Shh It's a Secret
by MeantforMore
Summary: Bella is in the middle of a secret that could cost her everything including a man who just might be the love her life. He also just happens to be her boss. Can everything come together? Or will it fall apart right at the seams?
1. Sidewalk, Sidestep, Sideways

Date: May 29, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Sidewalk, sidestep, sideways

Rated: Rated M

She was walking to work when she spotted her boss. He was walking in the opposite direction, probably to get his morning coffee where he could check out the barista, she thought bitterly.

She stepped sideways out of respect when he walked passed her. He brushed past her causing her to fall back. Luckily, someone caught her before she fell on her ass.

Her boss no matter how unbelievably sexy and gorgeous was the biggest douche on the planet. He noticed every other woman except her for she was merely his assistant. She knew from experience that she was never to get in his way. She had to sidestep so he could walk past her even in the elevator if she was in front of him. She knew from experience he had a nasty temper, and it was usually directed at her. According to him, she was the most incompetent assistant he had ever had. The problem was his father stipulated he couldn't fire her.

She was hired by the handsome Carlisle Cullen of Cullen Enterprises. He was like royalty and people hoped to reach his level of fame and success. He started off as an actor in his teens, and by his twenties he was everywhere. At twenty-five he retired from acting to start up his own company which branched out into several divisions including publishing which was where she was currently working.

She wanted to be an editor ever since she could remember. Her father was editor and chief of the New York Times for fifteen years before he died. She had watched him work with the best of the best. Everyone looked up to him, and she wanted that to happen to her. She didn't want to be a reporter though, she just wanted to be the head of editing if only she could get out of being Edward Cullen's assistant.

She didn't even think he deserved his job. He only got it because of his father. He had never done a single day of hard labor in his entire life after having everything handed to him. She sometimes wished he would fail to prove that he was infallible.

She reached the building that housed several offices including the publishing company. She had worked there for three years as an assistant to the biggest asshole on the planet. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose to prevent them from falling off. She went to the elevator when someone called out for her to keep it open. She turned her head to see it was the dick himself. She sighed because she had no choice. She pushed herself into the corner so he could squeeze in.

"Thank you, Miss, uh what is your name again?" He asked her. His green eyes penetrated her plain brown eyes.

"Swan, Bella Swan, I've been your assistant for three years." She stated causing his forehead to crinkle. He looked confused before something finally clicked in his head.

"Oh right," he muttered. "Did you complete the report?" He demanded angrily. She stared at him before pulling the report out of her portfolio. She knew he was an asshole from day one when he looked her up and down, and told her that she wasn't needed.

That was a low blow to her self esteem, but luckily his father had been walking past at the time. He overheard his son mistreating a poor girl, and hired her for him. His son had gotten into enough trouble with his assistants in the past, and thought that a girl who was average looking would be perfect. He needed to mature before he was going to hand over the reigns of his multi-billion company.

"Thank you." He said gruffly before turning away from her, and conversing with a woman who worked on five. Her name was Heidi, and she was a leggy blonde.

Bella sighed and went back to staring at the back of the head of the guy who was in front of her. When the doors opened she let him go first as usual, and followed behind almost getting smushed by the doors.

'Asshole' she thought for probably the billionth time in a week. He had been more of an asshole to her in the past week than he had been in the past three years. She couldn't understand him no matter how much she tried. She trailed behind him miserably, still desperately clinging to the idea that she might just might become an editor.

He ignored her as usual as he entered his office. He never spared more that an angry glare when he saw her. She couldn't fathom why he hated her so much.

"Isabella," he yelled from his office. She wanted to bang her head over and over on her desk, but instead she rushed out of her chair into his office.

"I need to you to go to my restaurant and pick up my breakfast. You can have the car deliver it while you go speak to Robertson. He says he has a new author he wants to introduce me to, some girl named Rosalie Dwyer."

'Aw shit,' she panicked. Her sister had gone through with her ridiculous plan to get Bella's book published even though her boss was the world's biggest prick, he knew business. He had managed to always top every single best sellers' list with every book the company published. Ali despised Bella's boss, and kept trying to get her to quit. Bella still had an ounce of hope left because she tried to see the best in everyone including the world's biggest shithead. Bella decided to stick with her guns even after all the torment she suffered at the hands of Dickward.

She had written a book based off all of the crap she was forced to do for her boss. It was a romance novel where in the end she ended up with her boss, but she wrote the book a year and a half ago when her hopes were high, really high. She wished her real boss could see what he was missing out on, but he was either too arrogant or pigheaded, or a combination of both to even look at her.

"Uh Miss Swan is there a problem?" He questioned her with raised eyebrows. She shook her head, and scurried out of the office. She had no idea what she was going to do now.


	2. Needle

Date: May 30, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Needle

Rated: M

"Bella," Alice whined when Bella pulled her to the bathroom after excusing the two of them for a moment. Jasper Robertson was dumbstruck when he saw the two of them rush away, arguing quietly down the hall. She could see him straining to crane his neck so he could hear the progress of their argument. It certainly surprised him to see that they were well acquainted with one another.

Bella crossed her arms and glared mutinously at her. She had absolutely no right to go behind her sister's back after she was given explicit orders that Bella didn't want the book published. "Alice, you can't always get what you want. I can't believe you used our little four year old sister's name in the first place to get my book published."

She rolled her eyes at her. "Honestly, how else was I going to get the book published? You obviously don't want her name on the book so that leaves only yours."

"No," She protested, finally comprehending her sneaky plan. She had always been good at getting Bella into trouble as a child. She pinned everything on her because she was older, and supposedly the most responsible of the two of them. "If Edward reads the book, which I'm sure he will, he will know that it's about him." The fight had not left her sister's eyes.

"You're an amazing writer sweetie. Just because some douche bag can't appreciate your talents doesn't mean other people won't. You've struggled for three years to be promoted to editor, but that asshole can barely see straight."

"I'm not a writer." She grumbled, reminding her sister for what seemed like the millionth time since she discovered the book on her computer five months previously.

She huffed angrily. She took Bella's hands in her own and stared her straight in the eye. "Bellabee, you need to publish this book. Maybe it will make Assward realize what a jerk he is so that he can start treating you like a person. He treats you like the gum off the bottom of his shoe. I remember the time he called you at three in the morning when he was in Europe so that you could feed his damn cat. If he wants to take over the company, he should treat all of his employees with proper respect they fucking deserve. I want you to publish this for all of the Bella's out there who are working for their own personal Asswards." She smiled reassuringly. Bella knew she supported her in everything she did, but this was different. She would most likely be fired with no chance of finding a job in this city.

"Fine," She grunted at her. She felt needled by her. She was always persuading Bella into doing things that she wasn't exactly fond of. "By the way do mom and dad know you used their daughter's name to publish a book?" Her eyes flashed guiltily giving Bella her answer. "Smooth real smooth." Bella congratulated her.

"Mom wants you at dinner this Friday. She doesn't care what Doucheward says only that you show up. She hasn't seen you in like three months." She reminded me. She ducked her head because she was ashamed at how much more time she was spending around the man she disliked the most over her own family. "Rosie says hi." They went back the meeting to finish their discussion with Jasper as well as explaining a few details surrounding the origins of the author. He agreed that it was best not to tell Edward at the moment.

"What should I tell him when I go back in later today?" She was unsure of what story she should tell him.

"Tell him that the meeting went well, and that I will call him later to discuss my client's book." Bella and Alice bade Mr. Robertson goodbye. Bella had a sneaking suspicion that Jasper and Ali liked each other. She planned to arrange for Alice to come to all of her meetings with the man in the hopes that her sister would finally find her own happiness so that she could get out of Bella's life.

Bella went back to the office, and told Edward the fabricated story that Jasper had told her to tell him. "Well alright, Isabella I need you to pick up dinner at my favorite restaurant. You may get something for yourself as well. We are going to be working most of the night. I need you to pull all of the ratings from each genre. Becky informed me that sales are down in the science fiction department. We are also going to be checking out a few manuscripts that Johnson has had trouble distributing." Bella slumped forward with the realization that she was going to be here for hours.

Edward smiled a little when she turned her back. He would never admit it, but the woman bothered him more than he expected. She had affected him from the first time they met, which is why he refused to hire her. She seemed like a genuine person, and he didn't want to ruin her like he ruined everything. The choice was taken from him though when his father decided to hire her.

He sighed as he saw her shoulders slump. He knew that he was the boss from hell, but he wanted her as far away from him as possible. He couldn't fire her because his father hired her, and he was the one who was actually in charge. He had gotten to know her a little bit to see that she was caring woman, but he didn't find her attractive in the slightest.

She hid herself behind large clothes and ugly glasses. Her hair was a frizzy mess, and she never appeared to try. He could pick her out like a needle in a haystack, but not because she stood out. There was something about her that had him all out of sorts. He never wanted to be as cruel as he was to her, but things changed when he could barely control himself around her. He had tried to get her to quit, but either she was really stubborn or there was something else going on.

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**A/N- Well, I've started this story, and there will be a post a day unless I'm unable. Please review because I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	3. Struggle

**A/N- All will be explained how Bella's father died, but how he has a four year old child and is still walking around. Thanks for all the people who followed and reviewed. All mistakes are my own, and unfortunately I don't own Twilight SM does.**

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Date: May 31, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Struggle

Rated: M

Bella had lived a difficult life in her mere twenty-six years of life. Her parents had divorced before she could even remember seeing them together. Alice had and acted out accordingly. She split her time between her mother and father's before her mother decided that it was time to stabilize with Alice in school and Bella about to start. Alice had went to stay with her father permanently, and Bella only got to see them a few times a year. Her parents alternated holidays and summer with the children. Bella and Alice's mother remarried when Bella was seven and Alice was ten.

Her stepfather was her father when her dad couldn't actively fulfill the role. He never tried to force himself into her life, but slowly and surely he became her second dad. She never really called him dad except for a few occasions, but he knew that that was what he was to her. He had started out low in the ranks of the New York Times, but over time he had worked hard and dedicated himself to the paper to prove that he was ready to be the editor of the Times. Bella remembered the satisfied smile on his face the day he came home to announce his promotion. The joy showed clearly on his face, and she knew at that moment that she was going to do something in her life to make her as happy as he was.

She was saddened when he died thirteen years ago leaving her mother and her alone. He died in the hospital after he was hit by a car. His leg had been crushed and the doctors had told them he would be fine, but he wasn't. Bella could still remember the last time she saw her stepfather. He was convinced he was going to be home within the week, and told them to go home and get rest. That night a bone fragment had been circulating in his blood system and traveled all the way to his heart. There was nothing the hospital could do to help him.

Bella moved in with her dad after that, unable to handle living in New York, and seeing the memories of her stepfather everywhere she went. Her sister was absolutely delighted with her move. She met her dad's girlfriend now wife for the first time as well. Sue was a nurturing spirit, and helped Bella through a lot of bad times. Bella's mother had passed away a year after her stepfather. She had a broken heart and wasted away. Alice began acting out after that with drugs and drinking. Their dad, Charlie caught her one night at one of the local hangouts in the small town that Bella hailed from. Forks was the tiniest town where no one ever really left except for a few rare exceptions. Alice had been hanging with her friends when her dad busted her. He put her into a rehabilitation program where she was forced to talk out her problems with a specialist.

Sue had been struggling to keep the family afloat while raising two teenage girls, and dealing with Leah who was only just a baby at the time. Bella chewed the tip of her pen as she thought about her younger sister, who could be the world's worst nightmare when she wanted to be. Sue was only in her late twenties when she married Bella's father who was well into his thirties. Seth came after Leah when Bella was sixteen and going through her own bouts of rebellion.

Rosalie was the biggest surprise that no one was expecting, but she was very welcome. Sue was thirty-eight when she gave birth to the rambunctious child who had their father wrapped around every single one of her tiny fingers.

"Isabella stop daydreaming and get to work." Edward commanded causing her to snap out of her little daydream. She repressed the urge to flick him off like she dreamed. She refused to quit, and would suffer through anything to prove that she was good enough.

"Sorry, Mr. Cullen, as long as I have your attention I wanted to inform you that I am taking Friday off." He stared at her uncomprehendingly because Bella had never requested a day off in her three years working for him. She had never used a single day of her vacation time, which meant that she had several days to use. "I can use one of my vacation days. It's just I have a family thing, and it's a three hour drive." She trailed on because she could never control her mouth whenever she was around him. She tried to see the good him, and she knew there was but he kept it buried deep down within himself.

He ruffled his hair as he considered her words. His eyebrows furrowed because he wasn't used to her not being there. She was a model employee despite his harsh treatment of her. He battled with himself to allow her what she wanted. He knew that he should be a little kinder to her considering all she's done for him. He sighed as his heart clenched at the thought of an empty office Friday. "I suppose you can have the day off." He could see her eyes light up that he had granted her this small request. He had never met anyone who, just the smallest things in life brought them joy.

"Thank you, sir. I promise to be in the office bright and early Monday morning." He turned his seat away from her to hide the smile that crept onto his face at her words.

"Isabella," he addressed her as he turned to face her again. He noticed the way her face scrunched up at her name, and wondered for the first time if she went by another name. "I have a question for you." Her forehead crinkled and her eyes showed her alarm. "Don't worry you're not in trouble or anything." He chuckled. "I want to know why you do it?" Her confusion showed, and he clarified. "Why do you put up with me?"

She bit her lip wondering if she should be honest or not. She didn't want to hurt his feelings even though he's stomped all over hers. "To be truthful sir, I've been hoping that I would eventually be promoted to editor." Edward's eyebrows shot up. He had never once considered promoting the girl who basically handled his entire life. She had never asked him either, not that he blamed her.

"Maybe that is something I should consider in the future." He could see the hope shining in her eyes, and he knew in that moment he would do anything to keep it there. "Come on, let's get back to work."

Bella's mind was reeling from her intimate conversation with Edward. Never had he been so forward with her, and she kind of liked seeing the good side of him. She focused her attention back to the manuscript she was reading. It was actually interesting, and she wasn't even a romance kind of person. She enjoyed fantasy, which is why Harry Potter had been her favorite book series growing up. Hell, even at twenty-six it had trumped everything she had ever read. She found it difficult to read when she kept feeling Edward's eyes on her. However, he would redirect his eyes when she looked up. She could feel the tension in the room build between the two of them, but if he noticed he didn't mention it.

Finally at a quarter to eleven, he called it a night for the both of them. He waited for her to gather up her things before they travelled down together. The air in the elevator crackled with all of the unspoken words between the two of them. It was growing awkward, and Bella wished the elevator would speed up so she could get away from him. When the doors opened she sprinted out of the closed space much to Edward's amusement. He watched the girl run towards the exit, and found himself disappointed because she was trying to get away from him. He wanted to offer her a ride home so she didn't have to walk at this time of night, but thought better of it. _'As if she'd ever get in a vehicle with me,_' he thought despairingly.

He thought of the first time he ever saw her, and how he struggled even then from what was right and what so obviously wrong. She had really been a girl, practically fresh out of college. She had worked at her school newspaper, and had interned previously at another publishing company. She had the kind of pretty that crept on you when you weren't looking. If you looked beneath the surface there was a butterfly waiting to emerge, and she had to let it. She wore a big, blue sweater that one could tell was hand knitted. Edward had wondered if it had been stretched, or if Isabella had been a big girl at one point. He thought it was most likely the latter when he saw the pictures on her desk. Her skirt was plaid and traveled almost to her ankles. He wasn't even sure what kind of shoes she was wearing. Her hair was tied back, but he could see frizzy curls in her mahogany colored hair. She had the most beautiful, soulful brown eyes he had ever seen. They told him everything he needed to know about her, and that was that she was too good for him.

He would inevitably ruin her, which is why he tried to be as much of an ass as he possibly could during her interview. She tried to stay cool, but he could tell that he was bothering her. When the interview ended, he confirmed what she had already concluded, which was that it wouldn't work out between the two of them. That was when his father decided to interfere, ruining everything because he couldn't fire her. He was now stuck with the girl who had penetrated his ice cold facade. She made him feel vulnerable, and had ruined his sex life. He hadn't slept with a single girl since the day he met Isabella Swan. He wanted to, but all of them seemed to pale in comparison to her. He only made her think he did so that she would stay away. He felt something for the girl, but would never admit it. Bella knew she had feelings for the asshole, but was smart enough to know nothing would ever come of it.

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**A/N- Phil died almost fifteen years ago, and Bella isn't exactly over it, but she has come to accept it. Edward isn't such a douche underneath it all, now is he? Let me know your thoughts. **

**Until next time- MeantforMore**


	4. Heist

**A/N- This isn't going to be an instant coupling. Edward is going to have to change, and Bella is going to have to accept that maybe he wasn't the guy she had thought he was. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited this fic. I appreciate and love all of you. All mistakes are my own, and SM owns Twilight.**

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Date: June 1, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Heist

Rated: M

Bella had been out of sorts for the rest of the week as she tried to figure out what was going on with her boss. He had been avoiding her lately, and when he wasn't, he was, dare she think it, nice. It was hard to put this new Edward Cullen with the asshole who treated her like dirt for the past three years. Ever since the night when they had a little heart to heart it had somehow changed the dynamic of their professional relationship, and Edward Cullen was stealing her heart all over again.

Every time she was around him, he consumed her senses and caused her to lose all thought. She would never tell her sister this, but there was the slightest chance that Edward wasn't as much of douche as she had originally thought. She couldn't put her finger on what had caused the turn around in his behavior, but she was happy for whatever it was. It was finally Friday, and she had to briefly stop in the office to grab something she had forgotten the night before in her hurry to leave. Last night had been brutal as her and her friends had a girls night out.

Tequila wasn't exactly good for the senses, and waking up with one of the worst hangovers known to man was how she had started her day. She remembered bits and pieces about her night, particularly the part where she vented to an audience about her boss. She had had too many drinks to actually have any control over the words spilling out of her mouth or to feel any embarrassment over it. She regretted her choice of drink though when she woke up to the sun shining through the window. Her eyes hurt and her head was pounding erratically. Her stomach gurgled and she ran to the bathroom where she spent a good hour hovering over the toilet puking her guts out.

Edward Cullen had really done a number on her, and she had no idea what she was going to do about it. She knew that there was the slightest chance that Edward would actually keep his word and promote her. She believed deep down that he would. Entering the office, Bella noticed how quiet it was. Her interest was piqued because it was nine, and everyone usually came in around seven or eight. She traveled down the hallway where she saw the door to Edward's office opened.

He was sitting in his office chair with a little girl in his lap. "Come on Ari," he pleaded with the young girl. "You know you want to eat your breakfast." Bella had to keep herself from snorting as he tried to get the child to eat.

The little girl wrinkled her nose. "Eggs are yucky." Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Don't you want to eat them for daddy?" Bella gasped as her hand covered her mouth. She had no idea that Edward was father even after working for him all these years. She planned practically every second of this man's life, and didn't have a clue about a major part of it.

"No," she pouted with her little eyes wide. Bella could see that they were watery, and that the little girl was close to crying. She rushed inside the office startling Edward, but she could sense that he was out of his depth.

"Honey, eggs are yummy. If you eat your eggs, I bet your daddy will take you for ice cream." Bella noticed the girl had greenish-blue eyes, and they lit up the moment she mentioned ice cream. Bella chuckled because children really do have selective hearing.

The girl turned to look at her father. "Pwomise, daddy that I can have ice cream?" She bounced on her father's lap, and Edward had no choice but to agree to his little princess' demands.

"Of course Ari, but you gotta eat your eggs." The girl was resigned, but she did as her father told her. "Isabella, what are you doing her?" Bella's cheeks tinged pink as she realized that she technically wasn't supposed to be there.

"I had to get something I forgot. I'm so sorry I interrupted. I'll be leaving as soon as I grab what I need from my desk." Edward watched with amusement as Isabella tripped over her own feet. Her entire face flamed red as she picked herself up off the floor. She reprimanded herself for not being cool, calm, and collected like she promised herself she would be the night before the next time she ran into him.

"Wait," he said before she exited the office. "I figure you're probably wondering when I had a child." Bella nodded mutely and wisely kept her mouth shut. "My former girlfriend fell pregnant five years ago when I was twenty-two. This little munchkin here," he poked the child's stomach causing her to giggle merrily. "She was born four years ago. This is Ariana, but my family and I call her Ari. She usually stays with my parents since I'm so busy, but occasionally I bring her to work with me. My girlfriend grew to resent Ari, and signed away her rights because she wanted nothing to do with her." Bella's heart clenched at his words trying to figure out how a mother couldn't love a little girl as sweet as Ari.

She watched Edward stroke her chubby little cheek and the little girl smile at her father before turning back to her food. If Bella's heart was stolen before, it surely was now after seeing Edward with his daughter. Her auburn curls were up in two little pig-tails that bounced every time she turned her little head. She could see the love he had for her shining in his eyes.

"She's actually moving in with me so you'll probably see her in the office more. Sometimes I might ask you to watch her for brief periods of time." Bella bristled at that because she wasn't his personal babysitter. She thought better of it though because she realized he was a single father who probably didn't have too many people he trusted with his little angel. "Well, I'll let you go Isabella. Oh yes, there was one more thing I have recently noticed that you don't see to favor your name too much. Do you have another name you'd prefer me to call you?" He asked her with genuine curiosity. He was desperate to know what she allowed those closest to call her because he came to the conclusion that Isabella just wasn't her.

"Bella," she said softly before leaving the office. He repeated the name in his head several times, and found that he really liked it. He watched the sway of her hips as she exited, and wished not for the first that he could ask her out. He shook the thought from his head because his first priority was his daughter. He couldn't let her get hurt, not again.

The pain he had experienced when his girlfriend had stolen their chance to be a family was tremendous. The only thing that kept him going was the little girl who currently sat in his lap. Tara had ripped out his heart, and caused his daughter to suffer as well. She left when Ariana was two after telling him she was done. She couldn't go through with the wedding, and she certainly didn't want to be someone's mother. Ari had pined for her for months until she just stopped asking about her one day. He was glad Ari didn't remember her mother. He knew she would always be a selfish bitch, and he was going to protect Ari from finding out the truth at least until she was ready to handle it.

"Daddy, who was that nice lady?" She questioned.

He smiled a little. "That was my assistant. Her name is Miss Swan." Ari nodded even though he was sure she had no idea what any of that meant. She finished the last of her eggs, and hopped off his lap.

"Can she be my new mommy?" The question startled him. He wasn't expecting those words to come out of the mouth of his four year old, and was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea after all to have her spend so much time with his mother and younger sister.

"No sweetie," he answered. He couldn't bear to look at the sad look on the girl's face any longer and turned his head.

Bella had grabbed her present for her mother from her desk and hurried out of the office to give Ed- no Mr. Cullen his privacy. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. He obviously didn't have any feelings for her, and was only being nice because he needed someone to watch his insanely adorable kid. She slumped against the back wall of the elevator, and wondered how her life got to be like this.

The drive to Forks was it's usual three hours and gave Bella plenty of time to think about her current predicament. She would do whatever he needed because she knew that he wasn't using her for free childcare. Some part of him truly did care for her even if he never admitted it. She felt the chemistry and the heat between them whenever they were in close proximity with each other. Her skin sizzled with her aching desire for him, and she could detect the lust in his eyes whenever he stared at her. The problem was he was her boss and she his employee, and a relationship like that would never work for people were bound to gossip because they couldn't help themselves. A relationship between them was impossible while she still worked there, but she could never bring herself to quit.

She pulled into her parents' driveway, and was immediately surrounded by her younger siblings. Seth at ten was well on his way to being taller than her. He loved to rib her about it because she was sensitive about her height. Leah was thirteen and was every bit the drama queen Alice had been at her age. Rosalie was everyone's little princess with her big blue eyes and golden blonde hair. Leah had once looked just like her, but as she got older her hair darkened to a few shades lighter than Bella's own hair color. Seth had kept his dirty blonde hair, but he had the same brown eyes as Bella and Charlie. Ali had inherited their mother's stormy grey eyes, which was something Bella had been jealous of when they were younger.

"Bella, you will never guess what happened yesterday."Seth was all over her more than usual. She and him had always shared a close bond, and he had preferred her over anyone else when he was a baby. "Leah got in trouble at school." He announced like it was the juiciest gossip, which for him it probably was.

"What did you do Lee?" She shifted her gaze to her sister who was currently pretending to be more interested in her nail.

Leah looked up at her sister with sad eyes, and Bella's heart went out to her sister. She put her arm around her sister's shoulders, and ruffled Rosie's hair as the two of them began their walk around the property. Bella felt bad about now having enough time spend with her younger siblings. She could barely remember the last time she visited her family. Guilt began to ebb it's way into her heart as she realized how much her siblings were growing up. She was missing all of it because she was caught up in her own pathetic life. Her and Leah actually talked about everything that was going on in the young girl's life from how to deal with boys to dealing your friends.

Leah leaned her head on her sister's shoulder as she basked in her own happiness. She had missed her sister over the past four months since she was away at camp the last time Bella came around. She admired her sister greatly after everything she had suffered through. Her sister was a survivor, and even though she loved Alice, Bella held a teensy bit more respect in the young girl's opinion.

"If Jack hadn't taken my purse out of my locker this never would've been a problem. We were fighting over my purse, and my cellphone was flung out of the purse. The teacher of course chose that exact moment to turn his head. He didn't see Jack with my purse, but he did see me pick up my cellphone. He took my phone and called mom and dad. Dad was furious when I got the chance to tell him the whole story, and went down to the school himself to handle things." Bella felt anger flow through her veins on her sister's behalf. Children these days had no sense of privacy, and constantly invaded each other's personal space. Social media websites were used to mock and embarrass others, which wasn't what the creators had intended to happen.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. Some people are just assholes." She knew Leah had heard the word probably on a constant basis at school, and didn't even attempt to cover up use of an expletive.

"Bella!" Her sister said scandalized, but she could detect the mirth in her eyes. "So do you mean Edward in that?"

Bella tilted her head in puzzlement. Was Edward the asshole she had always deemed him to be? If she was going to be honest, she would have to say no. "No, he's actually a person underneath it all." The answer definitely surprised Leah as she had heard firsthand from her sister about the asshole himself. Her sister had a real colorful language when it came to insulting people she didn't particularly like.

The two of them finally made it back to the house where Sue pulled her second oldest daughter into a giant hug. Bella wrapped her arms around her mother soaking up the warmth and love. Sue kissed Bella's forehead when she finally let her go. To Sue, she would always see the scared thirteen year old little girl who first came to live with them even though thirteen years had passed.

"You need to call more often young lady." Bella's eyebrows shot up as she was being reprimanded. "I haven't seen you, my beautiful daughter in ages." Sue had perfected guilt trips when she had first taken on the role of a mother with Alice. Alice was twelve when Sue first came into her life, and she needed a firm hand. Charlie had never been good at punishing the kids so he left Sue to be the bad cop. "You look thin. Have you been eating properly up there? I know you live in the city and you're an adult, but you've got to take care of yourself." Bella felt like a child being reproached by their parent. When Sue turned her back, Bella rolled her eyes for Leah to see. The girl snorted causing Sue to turn and give them both the stink eye.

"Don't think I can't still punish you because you're an adult." She brandished her knife at Bella who had the decency to look terrified. Bella scurried out of the kitchen and into the family room to see her dad being tackled by Seth and Rosie. She laughed when her dad trouble getting up.

"Need some help old man." He grunted, annoyed at being called old. "Daddy, you're not as young as you used to be." She patted his chest once he was up. He hugged her tightly, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

Charlie would never admit to anyone how much it bothered him that his two oldest lived so far away. Three hours could be considered far when you still have children at home and work full time. He constantly worried about the two of them living alone in the city. "Alice called and said she's going to be a little late. How about you and I go outside and sit on the swing?" He whispered in her ear. She grinned up at him, and linked her arm through his as they went out onto the porch. She leaned heavily into his side as the sat on the swing. "Is that asshole treating you okay? If he isn't, I will gladly go up there." Bella loved her father, but sometimes she had no idea what to do with him.

"Everything's fine Daddy." She assured him.

He tucked her in closer. "Bells, I apologize for being a little nosy at times." Bella thought that was the understatement of the century. He was worse than her mother at times, which was saying something. "I want you to be happy." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

The problem was when she thought of happiness there was only one image that came to mind, and she knew her family wouldn't exactly be happy for her. Edward had awakened a new side of Bella, and she was more confused now than ever.

* * *

**A/N- Well, no one in Bella's family likes Edward so he's going to have some trouble there. And Edward's a dad, what?! Please review, I love hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


	5. Dismiss

**A/N- There aren't going to be any updates on Sunday. I don't know if I'll update this Saturday because I'm graduating high school. I'll see what I can do. Anyways as usual this is not beta'd and SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

Date: June 3, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Dismiss

Rated: M

Dinner was somewhat an awkward affair since Bella had missed out on so much. In four months, she had missed what seemed like thousands of stories and inside jokes. She was feeling a little bitter until a story that knew about was told. The problem was it was an embarrassing story involving her when she was fifteen.

"Wait, Dad so Bells actually came home high?" Leah laughed clutching her stomach. Sue clucked her tongue much like the day in question.

Charlie scratched the back of his neck. "Yea, your sister came home after partying at some friend's house. She was talking about the sky being green, and how kitties were really soft. I asked her if she was alright, and she said is she alright." Bella grumbled under her breath as her siblings laughed at her expense. "She thought that was her name. I then called your mother down, and Bella asked who that was. When your mother came down the stairs and saw Bella at first her face softened until Bella asked her if she was Sue." Alice was laughing hysterically like she did every time. She was a little disappointed that she had missed her sister's reaction to being high. She never failed to tease her about it because it was just too funny.

"Sue asked her if she was serious. Bella's face was comical as she scrunched up her face in confusion. She didn't understand the question. Your mother helped her up the stairs and changing for bed. We let her sleep it off. Her first time coming home drunk was worse." He gave them all a stern expression especially Bella even though she was well past sixteen.

When dinner was finished, Bella volunteered to help her mother in the kitchen. "I remember you guys grounded me for a month after both incidents. You also took away my car after I got drunk. I thought you guys were being so unfair to me." Sue chuckled remembering how they lectured her for weeks after to instill in her the consequences of her decisions. Bella sighed and Sue's mom instincts were on high alert. She may not have given birth to her daughter, but she knew when Bella was having a problem.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She asked setting down the plate in the sink.

Bella hesitated, but she felt she needed to get it off her shoulders before she exploded inside. "It's ridiculous, really it's not that big of a deal." Sue had been a parent long enough to know that Bella was lying. She aimed her best 'mom' look at her daughter.

Bella huffed. "Fine, Ihavefeelingsformyboss." She said so fast that Sue had a tough time understanding the girl.

"Excuse me, I think you need to repeat that."

"I said I have feelings for my boss." She clarified, and Sue stared at her daughter flabbergasted which soon turned into horror.

"Your boss?" Her daughter nodded. Sue shed her gloves and took a seat at the table. "As in Edward Cullen?" Bella nodded again chewing her lip.

"He's not so bad. He actually let me take the whole weekend off, and he's been a little nicer to me lately." Sue knew enough to never begrudge her daughter the happiness she so deserved. She had watched Bella grow from a young girl who appeared to have the weight of the world on top of her shoulders into the amazing young woman she was today.

She cupped her daughter's face, and watched her eyes widen. It would've been comical if the words she had to say weren't so important. "Sweetheart, if you have feelings for him pursue them. People in this town tried to dissuade me from dating your father because he had baggage. I tried to pass of my feelings in the beginning, but they were too strong. We have a connection, and love blossomed between the two of us. Don't try to dismiss what you feel for this man because in the end all that matters is that you do feel for him. If he doesn't reciprocate well that's his problem not yours. Do you understand me?" Bella nodded her head trying to wrap her head around her mother's words. "Don't let our opinion of someone we've never met affect how you handle the situation." With that she stood up and went back to washing the dishes. She shooed Bella away when she tried to help.

Stunned that her mother refused her, she trekked upstairs into her old bedroom. Every time she entered she felt the urge to laugh at her teenage self. There were posters of Nsync plastered all over the walls, her shelves had cd's from the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, and several other bands and artists. She remembered listening to all of them once upon a time ago, and her walls were still painted mint green. Her walls were covered in photos from over a decade ago, and she barely recognized herself. She had really come into her own when she moved in with her dad. She always felt a little sad and regretful that her mother would never see the woman that she had become.

By the time Sunday night had come, Bella had never been so ready to return home in her entire life. She loved her family dearly, but too much time around them made her crazy. Her father kept asking about any recent men in her life as if he suspected that she was no longer a virgin. She smiled innocently when he tried to gather intel. She played it off as if he was the only man in her life which they both knew wasn't the case. Her siblings wanted her constant attention since Alice had ducked out the day before for some mysterious plans. Bella had a sneaking suspicion that it involved a certain agent that her sister had grown fond of in one meeting.

She kissed her parents goodbye with her mother whispering in her ear not to be a stranger. She also told her "to go get it tiger." Bella shuddered when her mind went to what it must be like inside her parents' bedroom. She hugged her siblings, and waved goodbye to her family standing on the porch as she slid into her car. She started up her car, and breathed a sigh of relief when the house was out of sight.

Her mind wandered to Edward, and she tried to vanquish the thoughts her mind had conjured. She had observed the way he had taken care of his daughter. He didn't seem to regret having her in the slightest even after her mother crushed his heart into a thousand pieces. She wondered if she was the woman that had made him so hard. She knew she wasn't the prettiest woman in the world, but she wasn't bad looking either. She was average. She wasn't the type of girl that would be seen on the arm of Edward Cullen.

When she went into work the next day there was no sign of Edward at all. Apparently, he had made arrangements to go out of town without informing her. He wasn't supposed to be back for at least a month, and that was when Bella truly dismissed the idea of Edward liking her. What could she offer a man like that anyways?


	6. Wail

**A/N- This chapter is entirely in Edward's pov. Don't worry, he's not being an asshole. The story will start speeding up soon once events begin falling into place. All mistakes are mine, and unfortunately I don't own Twilight. Please review if you like it or even if you hate it. **

* * *

Date: June 4, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Wail

Rated:M

"But Daddy I want candy." Ari whined loudly. Edward was close to pulling out his hair.

"No Ariana," he told her firmly. He didn't want her to grow up spoiled thinking she could get whatever she wanted.

The little girl wailed reminding him of when she was a baby with lungs that never seemed to fail. Tara had left him when Ariana was one, but stayed a little longer for appearances. She pretended to shower the girl in her love for her parents, but the truth was she would've gotten rid of the girl if Edward hadn't convinced her otherwise. Tara had ended their relationship a few months before the girl turned two leaving both of them behind as she pursued what she truly desired.

She signed away her rights without a care in the world except for herself. Edward couldn't understand how someone couldn't love the little girl from her cherubic little face to her bouncy red curls. Edward spent every night comforting his daughter after her mother abandoned her. The girl was smart enough to know that she had one less parent.

Ariana spent most of her time with her grandparents until they dropped her off at his apartment or he picked her up. She practically lived with them though during the week especially if he was busy. Most of his sick days were actually spent caring for his sick little girl.

He made the decision the week before to go on a little vacation just the two of them. He e-mailed Bella her instructions for the week entrusting the young woman with more responsibility. He was impressed and stunned by the way she had handled her self after finding out about his daughter.

He kept his daughter out of the public to prevent her from being harmed. No one except close family members and her mother's side of the family knew of her existence. He wasn't ashamed of her in the slightest, and thought of her as the greatest thing that ever happened to him even if it sounded cliche.

She made him see her mother for the pretentious woman that she was. Tara's intentions were to never have children to carry on a family legacy. She had her own ambitions, and was only using Edward for his many connections.

Last he had heard of her was her strutting down the runways of Europe. She had set precedent for his later girlfriends, most of which were blonde and tall. He never had a serious girlfriend that he would even consider introducing to his daughter. The tabloids loved to gossip about him and his many dates. Those dates were paid big money to give in depth interviews regarding their relationships with Edward. They mostly wanted their ten minutes of fame.

Edward ignored the press as always and retreated into himself. He avoided women especially after some accusations assistants made against him in regards to sexual harassment. He had only been involved with one assistant and she was a complete nut job.

He sat in his beach chair watching the sunset with a sleeping Ari. It wasn't the first time he felt like crying at the beauty of it all. It reminded him so much of the woman he had left back home to run things. She slowly crept up on you until there was nothing you could do but stare. She was the definition of beautiful even though she was quirky.

He loved her smile and her eyes. Her eyes told everything about her, which is why Edward trusted her more than anyone else. He loved the glasses with the large lenses she wore because it was her. He loved that she never worried what other people thought of her. She was never one to cry over something as insignificant as spilling food on oneself. Bella was truly one of a kind, and she would never be his.

He stopped up his daughter and headed back inside the beach house. He settled her down in her bed, and turned on his laptop. He needed to email Bella about a new project he wanted her to take over. He thought it was time to slowly start letting to of her because she deserved so much out of life. He was going to let her be the only editor on the romance novel she had been reading the week before.

He had finally opened his eyes to all the potential that she had. She definitely wasn't an assistant even though she was the best he ever had. A few tears leaked out as he realized the consequences of his decision. He would rarely see her anymore, talk to her, or work with her. He saw his editors once a week during their weekly staff meeting, but other than that everyone mostly kept to themselves.

This week had made him realize how terrible he had been to her in the past three years. He had never thought that she might be as stubborn as he was if not more considering all the crap she put up from him. He knew that she must be extremely determined to become an editor if she was willing to put up with all of his crap and insults.

He had not been particularly kind to the bushy haired girl, and for that he was regretful. He knew she had strong skin if she was able to come in everyday and deal with him. He was going to promote her at the end of the month once Sarah the current head transferred to the New York office.

He was finally going to let go of her.


	7. Dally, Alley, Rally

**A/N- Well thanks for all the reviews and follows/favorites. This chapter doesn't have any E/B in it. Please review cause I enjoy reading them. I love reading your reactions to everything. As usual all mistakes are mine and I don't own Twilight. **

* * *

Date: June 5, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Dally, Alley, Rally

Rated: M

Life without Edward was definitely less frustrating, but she couldn't help but think of him when she stared longingly at his empty office. He had emailed her instructions; he even left her with some editorial work. She couldn't believe herself when she opened up the email; she had thought it was some cruel prank, another way to make a mockery out of her. It wasn't though, and she began the process of editing the romance novel.

She couldn't help but sneak a quick glance at his office everyday when she came in. After two weeks, she decided to do all her work from the comfort of her apartment. She had finished the novel, and sent it off to the publisher.

She had a meeting with Jasper as he preferred to be called and surlrisingly her sister. When she met them at the little cafe she had frequented, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward. It seemed her sister and agent had gotten together in the span of a week. She was happy for her sister, but couldn't help feeling a little down.

"Alright, we are going to get right down to business." He said once she sat down. "I've spoken with Edward over a few conference calls, I didn't reveal your identity or anything." He told her. Relief flooded through because she didn't want to ruin all of the progress they had made together in the last week. "I told him that when the book comes out we should introduce the author and let her read an exert from the book."

Alice began bouncing in her seat, making Bella realize that her sister might have been there for more than moral support. Jasper patted Alice's leg to calm her. "Now Bella, I'm not saying you aren't beautiful, but as you will be in the public eye in a little less than three months time, it's time we start working on your outward appearance. This is where your sister comes in. She will be helping you. The date of the book release is August twenty-second. We will have weekly meeting to discuss the goings on with the book." They conversed a little more before Bella had to leave after finishing her meal.

She wasn't overly happy at the prospect of revamping herself. She was perfectly comfortable with who she was even if others didn't quite see her that way. She knew deep down that she his behind large clothes, big glasses, and big hair. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, and preferred to be appreciated for her work than her looks.

She tried to delay Alice as much as possible because after all she was used to how she looked. She didn't want to suddenly change because someone else said she should. That was one of the differences between her and her sister. Her sister loved the attention people had doted upon her when they were children while Bella enjoyed being in the shadows reading a book.

Alice was a guru in the fashion industry, and typically lived in L.A. where she helped dress celebrities for all sorts of events. Alice was charismatic and people generally liked her over Bella who had always been quite shy. Alice walked into a place, and it always seemed like she belonged even if she had never been there before. She exalted an air of authority that Bella wished she could achieve.

Alice had silky, long brown hair like Bella's except that hers didn't tinge red like her sisters. She was a few inches shorter than her younger sister, which had been a sore spot for her when they were growing up because Bella always looked like the older sister when they reached the ages of seven and nine.

Finally, Bella could no longer put it off and Alice dragged her to some high end clothing stores. They started at J. Crew where they purchased a few dresses to show off Bella's curves and breasts.

"I had no idea you even had boobs." Alice exclaimed as Bella exited the dressing room in another dress. It was a liquid jersey dress in deep violet, and looked good set against Bella's pale coloring. Bella fidgeted a little with the hem of the dress as her sister scrutinized her appearance.

Malice could barely detect the girl she had grown up with. She had a few issues with the way her sister chose to dress because she had never matured her style instead choosing to dress like she had back in college and high school. Her sister looked like a beautiful young woman any man would be lucky enough to have.

"You're gorgeous." She stated. "You can wear this to the book release, we can leave your hair down that day."They purchased a few dresses and skirts she could wear to work. She even had to try on heels specifically pumps that accentuated her long legs. Alice forced her to buy them once she saw how amazing her sister looked.

"Bella you underestimate yourself way too much. We need to build up your confidence." She said wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

They moved towards the denim section where Bella was forced into trying on different jeans from toothpick to vintage straight. Alice said it was time for Bella to stop wearing jeans that didn't make her look good. She had a nice body and she should show it off.

Bella was wiped out by the end of day, and had no time to accomplish the rest of her work. She decided she'd wake up a little earlier to work on it. She knew change was coming no matter how long she tried to prolongue it.


	8. Tag

**A/N- Well Bella can't make a move with said man across the country. She's going to have to find a way to occupy her time. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. Please review cause it seems all of you just want Bella to show Edward who she really is. Graduation tomorrow so the update later today will be the last until Tuesday. I've got orientation Monday, sorry guys. Anyways all mistakes are mine. **

* * *

Date: June 6, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Tag

Rated: M

It seemed to Bella that Edward was playing some sort of game with her. She didn't like it one bit, and thought he was trying to make some sort of fool out of her. He kept emailing the work, but other than that no one had heard from the elusive man. It was like him and his daughter had just famished in the middle of the night.

She knew he need a break, but it was going on two months now. While he was away, he had continued to speak to her through emails.

**From: Edward Cullen**

**Subject: Replacements**

**Yes, Bella I'm going to need you to conduct interviews for whoever is going to replace you. Obviously, you know exactly what kind of assistant I need so I am entrusting this to you. You've done a wonderful job these past three years, and I am proud to say that I'm promoting you to an editor. You'll also be working closely with the publishers. **

**For the moment I have you paired with Avery Thompson. He will be the publisher you will consult with so if you have any questions ask him. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful asset to the company as more than just my assistant. Good luck to you in all your future endeavors. **

**Also, I've been talking with Jasper and we've pushed back his new book until next summer. We want to create more hype for the book. We are going to plan a huge release as there is major potential for the book. **

**I won't be back in town for around six months for personal reasons. My father will actually be taking over briefly. Personally, I think it will be good for him to have something to do. Thanks so much for all of your help. **

**Sincerely,**

**Edward Cullen**

Bella stared incredulously at the her computer screen. She had know clue what was going on with Edward, but obviously he needed space from whatever was bothering him. She knew he would be back eventually because he was a man of his word.

She supposed that it was good for him to get away as she had never even seen him take a single sick day. His entire life revolved around his work even if it was only a filler until he took over the whole Cullen Inc. she could see how much of himself he put into his work.

Bella was still in the process of her make over. Alice wanted to gradually move her into her new look. She didn't want it to be sudden because she knew how her sister was. Bella liked to have some control, and not have the whole bus taken out from underneath her.

Alice had already completed the first phase which was to improve her sister's wardrobe or lack of. She had never approved how her sister chose to hide herself behind baggy clothes, frizzy hair, and hideous glasses. If she could admit it, her sister could be considered prettier than her with her big doe eyes. She had flawless, creamy pale skin with a natural flushed complexion. Alice could only achieve that look through make up.

Today had marked three months since their initial shopping trip, and Alice felt it was time to finally take care of her sister's hair. She had been itching to do it ever since they were teenagers. She could even hide her excitement when Bella opened the door to her apartment with a grim face.

This was the first time, they had actually had a chance to see each other since Ali did live in California.

"Awe, cheer up honey, it won't be that bad." Bella continued to sulk all the way to the hair salon. Alice chatted merrily with her sister even though she refused to comply and talk back.

Secretly, Bella was a little giddy at changing her appearance not that she would tell her sister that. She wanted her sister to squirm a little.

"Ooh girl, what have you been doing?" The hair dresser asked. Bella frowned while Alice started conversing in some sort hair language.

"She needs her hair washed as you can tell since it's not all that glossy. It's a little dry as well. You can give her some high and low light to bring out the natural reddish color in her hair. Then you can layer it, and add some side bangs. Blow it out, and add a few waves for bounce." Bella could barely keep up with a single word her sister said, but the hair dresser understood perfectly. She got to work immediately on Bella.

Bella merely relaxed while her hair was washed. She had to sit under the dryer for the color to sit. It took almost three hours before she was done, but it was well worth it.

She barely recognized herself as she stared in the mirror. She ran her hands through her hair to make sure it was really her. Her hair was longer than it was in its curly state. It travelled almost to her butt, and the hairdresser opted not to add layers or side bangs like her sister had asked. Bella appreciated it in the long run because she liked her hair long. It was silkier and glossier than before, and resist coloring was easier to see.

She squealed and hugged her sister to death. She thanked Anna profusely as her hair bounced behind. Alice felt immensely proud as she stared at her younger sister darting across the salon, and thanking all members of the staff. She hadn't seen Bella's hair look so nice since they were young children.

"Told you," she rubbed in as they walked out of the shop.

Bella stuck her tongue out like a petulant child. "You're still a little brat you know that. I remember how you used to hate being it whenever we played tag. You were stubborn and refused to play. It's good you've learned how to stop being pig headed."

"Whatever," she muttered rolling her eyes.

"Real mature, and you're supposed to be a role model for our younger siblings?" She huffed bumping her sister.

"Do you think it looks good?" Bella was letting her insecurities seep through; her sister knew she needed some reassurance.

"You're beautiful Bells, like a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly." Bella beamed at her sister. She hugged her tightly.

"You're a great sister." She said pulling away to wipe some stray tears from her eyes.

"I don't know I still see you as the little punk who cheated during hide and seek tag. I lost to freaking Leah cause for you." Bella knew her sister well enough to know she was joking. "You're okay too for a little sister anyways."


	9. Texture

**A/N- Alrigh guys, here's the first of many chapters the rest of which will be posted tomorrow. Sorry, I haven't updated but it's been a crazy few days. I graduated past saturday, my college orientation was Monday where I signed up for classes. I'm not a poli-sci and history double major. And I've spent a lot of time shopping, and not just clothes but I got six new books.**

**Review cause well you guys are awesome, and it's funny reading your comments on Edward. Again he's not in this chapter but he will be in the next one.**

**You guys can also follow me on twitter purplejam. You'll know which one is mine. **

* * *

Date: June 6, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Texture

Rated: M

Bella ran her fingers over the silky, slimy object. She couldn't believe how she allowed her sister into convincing her that contacts were a good idea.

She was being fitted for her first pair of contacts, and it was now her turn to put the flimsy lens in her eye. She couldn't fathom how they expected her not to blink the annoying little thing out. She stared at myself in the mirror, and Bella knew she had to complete this last task.

Her make over was almost done once she added the final touches. She straightened the contact on her forefinger, and slowly moved her hand up towards her eye. Her eye's initial reaction was to close, but she grit her teeth together and forced it to stay open. Bella pressed the contact into her eye, and blinked rapidly while rolling her eye.

She cheered inside when it stayed. She could feel the lens, but it wasn't as annoying as it was five minutes before when the optometrist put it in. She repeated it with the other eye, and for the first time in her life she had no glasses frames obstructing her view.

She could see all the tiny freckles on her heart shaped face. She could read all the posters on the wall. It was incredible, and she wondered why she hadn't done it before. It was like seeing a different person in the mirror without her glasses on. Bella could easily tell now that she was wearing eye make up without her glasses there.

Her eye liner was thin and her mascara elongated and thickened her short eyelashes that like to curl at the ends. Her eyeshadow was in the color naked, and was close to the color of her eyelid.

She stepped out of the room, and scheduled my follow up appointment for the next week to make sure that everything was fine before I ordered contacts. Alice pushed off of her seat in the waiting room, and the excitement was etched into her face. She practically assaulted me in her haste to hug me.

"You look amazing Bella." She gushed. "You can really see the golden brown of your eyes." She dragged her sister out of the building. "Now you are perfect not that you weren't before. But now everyone can appreciate your beauty." She pulled Bella in for a quick hug before jumping into her car and speeding off down the street.

Bella checked both ways before crossing, and took out her keys to unlock her car. The lights flashed on her Accord, and she pulled open the door. She slid in and started the car. This was the first time she drove without glasses, and it felt great. She had never been self conscious wearing glasses, which is why she had never bothered before.

It actually made a huge difference in her appearance. She had always associated myself with my glasses, and never really noticed what she looked like without them. She drove home and began work on her novel. Well, her next one anyways cause Ali said she had a lot of potential. She isn't really a fan of reading anyways so for her to read her sister's work made Bella feel incredibly honored.

Things were still moving slow in the editing department of her current novel, and she wasn't even sure which editor was working on it. It had moved to a different editor, and would soon be moved up to the publishing department.

No one really heard from Edward except for his weekly video conferences. He had up and left taking my heart with him.

She began typing more of her story.

_The feel of his hands on my body spurred me on. I attacked his lips fervently and he gave as much as he received. Our tongues battled for dominance while our hands roamed each other's bodies. A tiny voice in my head kept telling me it was too soon for us to be so involved with one another. _

_I pushed back when he groaned again because this wasn't right. We had to move slowly if we wanted the relationship to work. I had gone from being his assistant to being his girlfriend, which was faster than what we should be. We barely knew each other outside of our office relationship. I didn't even know his favorite color._

She stopped typing when her eyes began fluttering shut. She was too tired to change and could no longer fight the sleep that was overcoming her body. The past few weeks had taken a toll on her, and Edward's disappearance created more stress for her. She didn't realize how much she would miss the man until he wasn't there anymore. _  
_

Her last thoughts before sleep overcame her were about what the man who was always on her mind was up to. She wondered what he would think of her new look.


	10. Band

**A/N- Well, things are about to start heating up. Maybe not this chapter, but in the next two or three. Well let me know what you guys think if there is anyone still reading that is.**

* * *

Date: June 8, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Band

Rated: M

Edward sat in the warm sun on the beach watching his daughter beside him play in the sand. It had been a while since he had had any real time to spare for his little girl. It wasn't that he didn't love her, but she resembled her mom. Edward knew he was being unreasonable, but he couldn't help resent the little girl just a smidge.

She was an accident, but she wasn't a mistake. He promised her the day that Tara left that he was always going to be there for her. The problem was that Tara's parents fought tooth and nail to get custody of his young daughter, and it wasn't even until six months ago that he was able to win it back. They had leaked false allegations against him to the court, and even paid his nanny a healthy amount of money to testify against him in court. He had lost almost two years with his daughter because of that nanny, and when the money they had given her ran out he saw his perfect opportunity to regain custody.

He only had visiting privileges with her on the weekend, and sadly Tara saw more of his daughter than he did. His parents tried fighting against the Carson family, but their power stretched beyond that of the Cullens. They came form old money, and had connections throughout the city, state, country, and world. The Cullens didn't stand a chance against them.

Half the time he visited Ariana, she usually didn't remember him from his previous visit. His visits were few and far in-between because they had prevented him from seeing her. The entire first year they didn't approve a single visit, which meant a trip back to court. The court then set up a visitation schedule that Edward still didn't find reasonable in the slightest. He could only see his daughter during one weekend a month.

Ariana didn't even know him the first time he ever visited her, and she shied away from him in the beginning. It took three visits for her to even utter a single syllable in front of him. By the time six months had passed, he had enacted his custody suit, and eventually one. The problem was work dominated the entirety of his schedule, and he had no way to take care of his daughter while was working. His parents offered to watch her, and thus began Ari's routine of staying with her grandparents during the week. They caught up on all of the lost time they had missed as result of the Carson's and their selfishness.

Ari sat watching her father with a little furrow in her burrow. She couldn't understand how he wasn't married. Her Daddy was handsome in her opinion, and she was four. She couldn't fathom why some beautiful lady wouldn't want to be with him. He was fun, silly, and loved to play games. She overheard her grandparents saying they loved playing games, and she knew her daddy did too. She wanted a mommy badly. It was the only thing she wished for when her birthday passed this year with her daddy. She wished for that and to never see her other grandparents again.

She was smart enough to understand her real mommy never wanted her. She didn't love her like mommies are supposed to love their children, and she was perfectly fine with that. She didn't like Tara the few times she did meet her anyways. She was mean and looked like one of the oompa loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Her skin was so orange that she actually asked her if she was in the movie. That earned her a slap from Tara, and she was resolved to never speak to the woman again.

There was only one woman she thought was good enough for her Daddy, which was Bella. Bella was really pretty and nice. Her Nana said that her Daddy tended to ignore what was right in front of him. She couldn't understand how he didn't see Bella and she did. Nana said her daddy wouldn't know a good thing if it bit him in the butt.

She knew she had to arrange for him and Bella to get together because she was perfect for him. She looked at her Daddy like her Papa looked at her Nana. She found it a bit creepy personally, but her Nana seemed to love it. They were always making kissy faces at each other. She wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"Daddy?" She called out to him.

He snapped his head up and looked in her direction. He had been working on his iPad, and was reading a novel that wasn't debuting until next year. "Yes sweet pea?" He was genuinely curious as to what she wanted.

She was usually content to spend her entire day on the beach in the sun, which is why she was golden brown at the moment. Her hair was almost strawberry blonde, and her arms were peppered with little blonde hairs. Her eyes seemed bluer now that her skin was darker.

They had been in California since late April, and it was now September. He was content to stay there, and never go back to Seattle. He knew he had to eventually because he had responsibilities to take care of.

"Can I call Nana?" She smiled sweetly at him. She knew her Daddy could never resist when she smiled like that at him.

"Sure munchkin, let me call her up now." Within a minute, Ari was inside plotting with her Nana.

"He likes her Nana. He needs a push like in the soaps." After talking for another ten minutes, they decided on a course of actions that would work perfectly in their favor. Ari knew how stubborn her Daddy was, but she was even more so being four and all.

Her Nana and her had joined forces against her Daddy for his own good as Nana said. He didn't know how to make good decisions so they would do it for him.


	11. Collide

**A/N- Well I lied to you guys and for that I'm sorry. I did intend to post the stories, but things kind of got away from me. I'm on vacation right now, and am slowly trying to catch up. Please review and the next chapter will be up in a few hours. **

* * *

Date: June 10, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Collide

Rated: M

The office had been out of sorts since the news had broken that Edward would be back in Seattle in just a few days time. Everyone was unsure of themselves as it had been sometime since anyone had actually observed them at work. They had all grown used to working independently with directions from Mr. Cullen every now and then.

She had yet to find a suitable replacement for Mr. Cullen so she had taken to performing her assistant duties and her editing responsibilities. It was twice the work, but not just anyone could handle Edward Cullen. All of the women who Bella interviewed were shallow and wanted nothing more than to be by Edward's side. She rolled her eyes repeatedly as they gushed over all the gossip they had read about him from trashy tabloids. It was absolutely ridiculous, and she truly believed there wasn't going to be another person like her who would come along. Most women saw Edward, the rich boy with good looks instead of an actual person who might something more real from his relationships.

Bella sighed and set her head on her desk. She was bone tired from all of the extra work she had been putting in over the last year. She had weekly chats on the phone with the head of the publishing department. Contracts had already been signed about movie deals, endorsements, and books signings. The opening weekend of her book being put on shelves would start with her in New York. She would be reading at an event, which made her extremely apprehensive. She had never been much for public speaking in high school. That had caused her to lose senior class president because she wasn't exactly good at vocalizing.

Her book came out in a little over two months time, and Bella couldn't believe how much time had passed. This time last year she was only a lowly assistant with a serious need for a make over as her sister put it.

It had been quite the ordeal the first time her family saw her. Her siblings couldn't even comprehend how much more beautiful she was without her glasses and bushy hair. Her mother started taking pictures all over the places while her father muttered darkly about moving closer to keep the guys away. Both Bella and her mother rolled their eyss fondly.

Alice had yet to meet up with her family, which was probably for the best because her and Jasper had moved in with one another. Jasper conceded and moved down to L.A. to be with her sister. The argument had last a few weeks until he caved because he loved her too much to let her go. They lived in a condo right off the beach, and Bella didn't feel the need to tell her sister that their dad was planning on visiting her.

Bella packed away her belongings and bid goodbye to her coworkers. She stepped into the elevator and headed down. She was exhausted after waking up at four in the morning to finish up some editorial work on her latest novel. She was on some tight deadlines, and it didn't help that most of her nights were spent as Edward's assistant.

As soon as she stepped off the elevator another body collided with hers causing her to almost fall back. She would've fallen too if someone hadn't of grabbed her. She barely had time to think about the warm, large hands holding her arms before she stared at the face. She gasped seeing Edward Cullen in the flesh in front of her.


	12. Transient

**A/N- Well it's a little more than a few hours, but I fell asleep writing. I'm about to go to the pool so I'll write more later. As usual all mistakes are mine as this has not been beta'd. I don't own Twilight, SM does. Please review cause it makes me smile. **

* * *

Date: June 11, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Transient

Rated:M

It was as if some sort of spell had taken hold over Bella as she stared unashamedly at her hero. All she could do was gape at the devilishly handsome man still holding her.

She blinked and her geeks tinged pink with embarrassment as she realized her close proximity to Edward. He noticed were his hands were located and dropped them. Bella tried not to be disappointed when he removed his hands, but she was. She noticed how dark his skin was, and how much lighter his strange colored hair was.

"Uh… thanks," she muttered awkwardly, shifting her balance to her right side.

"Do I know you?" He asked her, curiosity lacing his voice. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was that caused the woman to be familiar to him.

Bella mashed her teeth angrily, biting back an angry retort that was begging to be said. It was so like men to never realize when a woman changed. This was probably why women asked men if they noticed a change in their appearances. Men could be absolutely clueless when it came to women.

"No I don't think we've met, but I know all about you. I'm sorry as lovely as this is, I've got to go." She pushed past him leaving him with furrowed eyebrows as he stared open mouthed at her. He knew he knew her, but she wasn't like when he had last seen her.

It bugged him as he headed up to his office that he couldn't place her face. He thought he would remember beautiful brown eyes like hers, but apparently that wasn't the case. He traveled through the office as everyone bid him hello. It had been a little surreal to see that nothing had really changed during his sabbatical.

People still went about their work in a professional manner with gossip still spreading at unprecedented speeds. He was a little crushed when he didn't see Bella. He stopped by her desk on his way to his office only to discover that she had just left. His shoulders sagged with disappointment as he walked to his office.

He noticed that there was no sign of a new assistant, and wondered if Bella even interviewed one. He knew the standards were high, and chances were he was never going to find another one as dedicated as her. She would work holidays when he asked her, and she even worked weekends when most of his staff was at home sleeping and relaxing.

She was one of a kind for sure. As he settled in his chair and checked his emails his couldn't help but think of the girl he accidentally knocked over. She didn't seem to keen to speak with him once she stopped staring that is. It seemed to him that he had hurt the woman's feelings somehow when he didn't realize who she was.

The brown eyes continued to haunt him for the rest of his day. He kept feeling like he was missing something, but he didn't quite know what it was. During that brief meeting with her, she seemed to remind him of Bella. He shook his head trying to rid it of the absurd thought.

There was no way that it could've been her. Bella was beautiful the way she was, and he knew she was secure in her appearance. He came home to his now five year old and mother whispering in hushed tones, and he felt not for the first time that they were conspiring against him.

"Hello?" He called out, pretending that he just got home. The whispers ceased and Edward now knew they were discussing him.

"One second daddy," Ari yelled back. Edward heard the rustling of papers, and then he saw a little blur. Ari had pummeled into him, and clang to his legs. She had grown a few inches in the last year, and almost reached to his waist.

Her curls had been cut to her shoulders, and were usually worn in hairbands or clips these days. He missed her long hair, but she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. He was somewhat disheartened when he realized that his little baby was growing up. He had missed too much time with her already, and wasn't going to waste another second.

He plucked her off the ground and spun her around before holding her close. Ari nestled her head underneath her father's chin and sighed in contentment. "How was your day sweetheart?" He asked her, setting her back on the floor.

She looked at him with her bluish-green orbs filled with deviousness. "Oh quite boring," Edward could tell she was lying, but didn't press the issue. He would find out eventually. Ari grabbed his hand and dragged him into the living room where his mother was casually sitting on the couch sipping her tea.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He realized a second later that his daughter was a distraction while his mother his everything. These two were a perfect team, and him and his father were outmatched. He walked over to his mother and kissed her cheek. She cupped his face with her sweaty palms. Edward knew she was nervous, and he wondered what they were up to.

"Well, I'm going to go work in my office. Call me when dinner is done." He looked back as he exited to see them whispering again. Something was going, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.


	13. Whip, Slip, Grip

**A/N- Two in one day, how awesome am I? I'll try to post the rest tonight. As usual all mistakes are mine and please review cause it makes me happy.**

* * *

Date: June 12, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Whip, Slip, Grip

Rated: M

Bella stabbed her broccoli somewhat violently as she was still upset about the altercation with Edward. If it hadn't been for her little slip she would never have needed his help, and could've gone on her merry way. Her mind had other ideas though, and she continued to daydream about the way Edward gripped her harms in his smooth, tender hands. He had slim, long fingers that were perfect for piano players. She also couldn't help but think they were perfect for other activities as well.

Bella shook her head to empty it of all thoughts related to Edward. She knew she appeared quite different, but she didn't think she had changed that much. She finished her dinner and rinsed her plate of before putting it in the dishwasher.

She tried to watch some television before bed, but she was far too distracted to focus on anything playing. She decided to go to bed early so that she could give her mind a break.

She discovered this was to be a bad idea.

"_Miss Swan can you come to my office. I need to speak with you." Bella realized that she wasn't dressed in her normal work attire. She was wearing some sort of lingerie with stilettos. _

_She entered his office even though she didn't want to. His eyes roamed over her body hungrily, and he patted his lap, inviting her to come sit. She did so, and he slid his arms around her waist._

_"Have you been a naughty assistant?" He whispered huskily in her ear. She nodded eagerly, moaning as his lips suckled on her neck. Her skin was tingling with desire for him. She could feel his hard on, and shifted a little to find proper friction. _

_"Ah, ah," he said, licking the base of her neck." "Bad assistants don't get reward." She groaned as his fingers grazed over her sex. She was soaked and gripped the arms of his office chair as he introduced a finger. She moaned wantonly as his finger plunged into her and screamed as it worked its way into her. "Sh, sh or I'm going to have to whip you, my naughty little vixen." _

_Bella's head fell back as he rubbed her clit. She was so close, and could feel her muscles tensing in preparation for her sweet release. _

She heard a beeping and woke up to her alarm clock signaling her start for the day. She fell back onto her pillows disappointed. She was so close, and she could feel how wet her panties were. She sighed when she noticed that she didn't have enough time to finish it off.

She groaned into her pillow, wishing desperately she could get her release. She slid out of bed, and trudged through her bedroom into the bathroom. She looked a little overexcited in the mirror, and her hair was mussed up. She turned on the showerand stepped inside once the water warmed up.

The water felt delicious on her skin that ten minutes ago was tingling with desire. Her dripping sex was aching with it, and Bella wished she had time to take care of her needs. Unfortunately because of her sex dream she overslept and there was a good chance that she was going to be late.

Once out of the shower she quickly dressed in a white ruffled blouse and a grey pencil skirt. She wore white heels to match her blouse. She grabbed her purse and some files for work before rushing out of her apartment. She locked her door and used the stairs to get downstairs. By the time she arrived at the office she was twenty minutes late.

Her cheeks were flaming red as she entered the staff meeting late. Everyone stared at her as she took her seat. Edward was bemused while Jerry was disapproving. He was the need head of editing and a real dick.

"Alright, now that everyone is here we can begin." Edward searched fruitlessly through the editing staff for Bella, but she wasn't there. He continued on in disappointment.

"Swan," Jerry said at the end of the meeting when everyone was packing up to go. The woman from yesterday turned her head, and Edward had to fight back a gasp. "You were late. I told you we needed to speak before the meeting." Bella's cheeks colored pink, and Edward felt bad. He noticed that although she had a little more confidence, she didn't like being singled out.

"Sorry sir it won't happen again." Her melodic voice was music to his ears.

"Bella," Edward called to her. Her eyes moved until they met his. He realized albeit a little sadly that it was her. "My office now," he said as firmly as he could.

Bella's shoulders sagged because this day was now turning into a nightmare.


	14. Amuse

**A/N- Well, here's another and theres two more. I'll try to post them by midnight, and thanks to everyone who fav'd or followed this fic. As usual all mistakes are mine. I would appreciate it if everyone reviewed.**

* * *

Date: June 13, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Amuse

Rated: M

Edward wanted to laugh as he watched Bella enter the office. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and if seemed like she could barely walk. She almost tripped entering his office. He hid the small smile on his face.

He felt bad when he noticed the worry lines etched into her face. He wanted to ease her worry. "Don't worry you're not in any type of trouble." He could see her visibly sag with relief. She chewed on her lip nervously wondering what he could possibly want with her.

"Oh well uh… that's nice." She said, playing with her hands. She refused to look up at him.

"Can you look at me?" He asked her gently. She shyly moved her head up, and he was happy to see some of his former assistant still there. "You look great, not that you didn't before. It's just different." He told her.

She smiled in thanks, and was glad for once that she didn't feel embarrassed.

"I've uh been wondering," he ruffled his hair nervously. "Are you still doing secretarial work?"

Bella nodded, chewing her lip anxiously. "Well it's been amazing as always even though you are doing editorial work now. How do you like the editing department?"

"It's great and I love the people. They are all sweet, and hard workers." Edward smiled a little because even though she didn't get along with Jerry, her head, she didn't paint everyone else with the same brush.

"That's wonderful, but I can't keep having you do the same job. It's not fair to you." Bella couldn't argue with his reasoning, but felt sad at the prospect of not working for him anymore. At least, in such a close capacity.

"Yes, I suppose you are right." She said a few second later. She didn't mind the secretary job, but it was a lot of work to keep up with.

"So effective immediately Bella Swan you are fired from your position as my secretary. You are now the editor, and when Jerry is transferred in two months, you will take over his position." The words tasted bitter coming out of his mouth, but deep down he knew it was for the best.

"Thank you,… Edward." He waved away her thanks, and he basked in the glow of her happiness. That was all he ever wanted was for her to be happy. "Well I gotta go, editing waits for no one." He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling when she left his office, but he was positive he wasn't happy.

Bella kept running into Edward the rest of the day. She first ran into him at lunch when she spilled clam chowder all down his front. To say she was mortified would be an understatement. What surprised her even more was when Edward started laughing so hard that he was in stitches clutching his stomach.

She wanted to be angry with him for laughing at her, but couldn't find it in her. The expression on his face was that of amusement, and it had been absent on his face for as long as she had known him.

She then ran into him two hours later whilst carrying several manuscripts. Some sort of force kept pushing her towards him whether she wanted to or not, though she really wanted it to. She cherished every moment that she was able to be close to him.

She noticed that he had changed during his year away. He was a kinder version of the man she once knew. He was also more open with her. She felt warmth flood through whenever she came into close contact with him like in her dream. She worried that the dream had somehow addled her brains combing her there was something between her and Edward.

Edward relished in every moment because Bella amused him endlessly. Her clumsy actions may have ruined his suit, but he didn't mind in the slightest when he saw the beautiful blush adorning her cheeks.

These awkward moments continued for the next week. Neither were sure why everything between them was weird. They had been comfortable before when she was personally working for him, but their relationship had been altered by his long absence and her no longer working for him.

Edward appreciated her new choice of clothing as it accentuated her curves and delectable ass. Her hair was long and bouncy as she swayed her hips when she walked. She was more confident and had grown a back home against people who tried to put her down. She was the same and different at the same time, and he was trying to figure out how it all worked together.


	15. Dizzy

**A/N- I'm slowly catching up, but I've been so busy on vacation. I will be home Friday morning, and hopefully caught up. Posts should be regular by next week. Here's the chapter you have all been waiting for, please review. All mistakes are my own, and I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

Date: June 14, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Dizzy

Rated: M

Bella had been out of sorts for a few days while she tried to avoid Edward as much as possible. She couldn't believe her luck when she ran into him seven times in one day, and managed to embarass her self each and every time.

She didn't know what had overcome her, but she was resolved to avoid him. She wanted to prevent her public mortification for everyone at their place of work to see.

Edward looked for Bella at every opportunity, but she seemed to be a few steps ahead of him at every turn. He wasn't going to ignore his feelings for her any longer as she was making it extremely impossible to ignore. His heart grew fonder whenever she embarrassed herself because it gave him a chance to see the real her instead of the timid girl that his behind her clothes and glasses.

Edward found the perfect opportunity in the gala the company held every year to raise money for the camp his family owned in Pennsylvania. The camp was for children who didn't have the greatest starts in life like foster children, homeless children, and orphans. The children went through therapeutic activities while attending the camp. They enjoyed three meals a day including snacks and desserts. It also gave them a chance to bond with children in similar situations as theirs. It was a concept he came up with when he was ten and returned home from his two month summer camp. He asked his mom if children whose parents didn't make a lot of money went in the summer. He had no idea the camp would be as successful as it was, or that so many people would donate their time and money to help out.

He never got the chance to formally ask her since he had been busy taking care arranging meetings, working with clients, and trying to fill in gaps in his employment roll. He had three pregnant women that weren't coming back instead preferring to be stay at home moms not that there was anything wrong with. His own mother had give. Up her successful law career to be a mother to him and his brother and sister. Of course, neither of them stayed anywhere near their overbearing parents.

They called and visited, but they chose to live as far from their parents as they possibly could. His mother had hounded his siblings for years about grandchildren and when they were going to settle down. He wasn't exactly in a position to move, and neither of his siblings wanted anything to do with the company. They would each own one-third of the company when their father passed therefore giving them each a seat on the board, but other than that they didn't give a flying shit about the company.

Edward stared at his reflection while he tied his bow tie. His mother had instilled him the importance of being able to tie your own neck wear when he was a young boy after tying so many for his father. His black dress shoes were shined to perfection. His Versace suit was tailored to his every limb, and fit him like a glove. His hair was in its usual disheveled state, which wasn't anything new.

Before leaving he went to his daughter's room to say goodnight. Her bedtime was the exact time the gala started, 8 o'clock. His little angel had already bathed and smelled like how little girls should smell in his opinion. She had a flowery scent attached to her, which he enjoyed immensely.

Her curls had already been brushed and braided back. His daughter's latest obsession was with some show called Sofia the First. She had everything from sheets to toys and clothes. She was wearing her Sofia pajamas, which were pink. The sleeves on the shirt were ruffled and the shorts were trimmed with bows. He couldn't help but admire how adorable his little baby was.

"Ready for bed baby?" He asked her while she rummaged through her toy box.

She pulled her head out long enough to send him a sharp, reproachful glare. He shrunk back not used to his daughter glaring at him. "I need to find something." She said, burrying her head back inside. Five minutes later she pulled out her favorite doll Lily.

She crawled into bed surrounded by her doll and her favorite stuffed bunny Rolando. He didn't even know where she got the name for her bunny, nor did he really want to know.

He tucked her in all nice and snug. She sighed contentedly in her warm bed. She thought about her and her Nana's plans and how everything would come to a head that night. She let herself smile as her dad kissed her goodnight. He had no idea what was in store for him later on.

"Have fun tonight Daddy. I love you." She kissed his cheek and hugged him once more before she left. She fell asleep with a smile on her face as all her hopes and dreams would soon come true.

Bella felt nauseous as she observed herself in the mirror. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate hair bun. She lost count of all the bobby pins her sister had stuck inside of her hair. Her make-up was tasteful, and went perfectly with her black dress. Her sister decided to go with a smoke she to match the dress. Her lipstick was a nude from Mac, and her cheeks were covered in a light blush. Her dress was similar to a corset on top, with a sequin flower on one side. It was strapless, and flowy towards the botWith with a slit in the middle. She wore black stilettos, which her feet would be screaming about at the end of the night.

She checked her appearance once more, and decided she was good to go. She headed downstairs where a black car was waiting for her. The driver opened the door for her, surprising her a little. She slid into the leather backseat. The towncar smelt brand new, and Bella felt specia. She was confused as to why a car was picking her up, but decided to question it later.

She arrived thirty minutes later outside the Cullen Modern Art Gallery. It had seen some of the most famous artists of the twenty first century since it's opening in the winter of 2000. The driver pulled up to the front where an usher opened the door for her, and held out a hand to help her out. She blushed furiously as she stumbled a little getting out of the car.

She walked up the steps to the building where people were slowly entering. She spotted Edward's parents out of the corner of her eye. His father was debonaire with his blonde hair slicked back. His suit was impeccable, and fit nicely to his body. She swore she could feel some drool at the corner of her mouth as she gaped openly at him. His mother was dressed in a strapless dark green dress. She was about as tall as her husband in heels, and her hair was pinned back with a few curls in her face. They were both beautiful together, and complimented each other.

Bella kept forward and entered the building. People were conversing everywhere, and she didn't want to seem out of her depth so she walked around for a little bit until she ran into someone she knew. Jasper was in a grey suit that was a little looser than Carlisle's.

"Hello!" She exclaimed happily as she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "Where's my sister?" She asked, searching for her sister.

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "She's in the ladies' room. Something about touching up her make-up as if she doesn't always look gorgeous." Bella giggled merrily because she could totally picture her sister doing that.

"Well that's Ali for you," she said through her giggles. He glared at her playfully, and she smacked his shoulder in a sisterly way. They had grown close like brother and sister when he began dating her sister. "So have you guys told the folks yet?" She asked once she stopped laughing.

The blood drained from his face. "Are you crazy?" He mock yelled at her. "I'm not trying to get shot by the chief. First of all, your sister told me about all the guns he has stashed away in the house as well as how he enjoys hunting." She couldn't disagree with him that there was a slim chance that her father my take out his gun. He did that whenever they had brought a boy over. Charlie enjoyed scaring the boys away by threatening them with his shotgun, and the fact that he was the police chief made things even harder.

At that moment, Ali chose to make her presence known by hugging her sister from behind causing her to squeal loudly. People around them stared at them strangely. Bella's cheeks colored pink with embarrassment. She pinched her sister's shoulder as payback.

"Ouch," she said, rubbing where a red mark was starting to form on her arm. "That was unnecessary." Bella raised her eyebrows at her sister. "Okay, okay so what I did wasn't exactly needed either. Whatever." She muttered indignantly. Jasper only smirked at Bella as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders while she pouted like a child.

Bella excused herself not wanting to puke as she watched her sister and her boyfriend all lovey dovey with one another. They could be nauseating when in a close capacity as Bella had witnessed several times. She was feeling a little light headed since her sister hadn't allowed her to eat lunch while she was prepping her. She could barely stand, and at that moment she fell forward into who else, but Edward Cullen's arms.

Edward was shocked as he caught the lithe figure of one Bella Swan. He had already been walking her direction, and sped up when he noticed her off balance. He caught her just in time to prevent her from hitting the floor. He carried her to an upper gallery. He laid her down on one of the benches, and went to go find her some food.

He watched her nervously as she came to. Her eyes fluttered for a few seconds before opening fully. She seemed confused, and when she spotted Edward beside him, she had to stop herself from freaking out. "Where am I?" She asked him, slowly sitting up.

"We are in one of the upper galleries. I caught you before you hit the floor. Are you okay?"

"Uh yeah, a little hungry since my sister caused me to miss lunch." She noticed the plate of food beside him, and eyed it hungrily. He handed her the plate of finger foods.

She grabbed a sandwich and stuffed her mouth full of it. She moaned at the taste, and Edward had to think about his parents having sex to prevent a hard on. "Are you okay?" She asked him, noticing the look of disgust on his face.

"Of course," he said cooly. Awkward silence descended upon them as neither knew how to start a discussion regarding their feelings.

"Edward" "Bella", "you go first," they said at the same time. As Bella was still eating he decided to broach the topic of his feelings. "I'm having a dilemma." He told her honestly. She stared back at him curiously wondering what could be bothering him. "See the problem is, I have feelings for someone I shouldn't. She's too good for me, and she works for me." Bella tried to hide her disappointment as she drooped her shoulders.

"And you want my advice?" She asked bitterly. "Why don't you just fuck her like you do with all your whore?" Bella had no idea where the words came from, but she regretted them as soon as she said them. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean that."

"I know you didn't. That's the problem, I don't deserve you at all Bella. You're amazing in how you don't care about your looks. You're confident on the outside even when you're not on the inside. Hell, I don't even know how you tolerated my ass all these years." Bella couldn't believe her ears.

"Wait, you have feelings for me?" She questioned him to clarify that what she was hearing wasn't a figment of her imagination.

He nodded. "Ever since that day you walked in my office, I've had feelings. Over time it's turned into love. I love the way you crinkle your nose when you're trying to concentrate. I love that blush that covers your cheeks just like that." He told her as heat rose to her face. "I love when you ignore gossip about the way you dress. Most of all, I love you. I understand if you don't feel the same especially after the way I've treated you."

"Are you crazy?" She exclaimed angrily. He dropped his in disappointment, knowing that she was going to say she could never love someone like him. "I've been waiting for you to say that forever. I worried endlessly that you'd never return my feelings. Here you are this extremely good looking and rich man, and I'm merely an editor and your former assistant. What could I have to offer you?" She lifted her eyes to see that the hope had returned to his. "You're this amazing man, who raises his daughter by himself. You can be an asshole, but you can also be a great guy. I've been avoiding you because I had feelings and the dreams."

Edward's interest peaked at this new development. "Dreams huh?" He asked her huskily in his velvety voice.

"I didn't say that." She tried to deny it, but his eyes had darkened like in her dream. She found herself unable to deny him. "Fine, I have been having sex dreams for the last several weeks." Edward laughed until Bella sent him a sharp glare. He swallowed nervously.

"Alright, there is something I want to try." He cupped her face, and slowly leaned in. Bella's eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. Edward's slips slowly and softly descended upon her own. Her skin tingled with a burning passion as her hands latched onto his hair, trying to pull him closer. The kiss soon turned from chaste to frantic longing. Bella opened her mouth allowing Edward entrance, and her tongue danced with his. They parted when it soon became clear they needed air to breathe. They were breathing heavily, and Edward's latched his lips onto her neck and began suckling on her skin.

She moaned at the feeling of his lips on her skin. She was buzzing, and it felt incredible. He continued nibbling around her collarbone, and she was sure he had left a few hickies.

"Now I'm going to have to cover these up." She joked even though she knew she wouldn't because they showed that she was his.

"Don't you dare," he growled playfully. They continued to kiss until both of them noticed the time. "Come on, let's get you home." He wrapped an arm possessively around her waist.

"So does this make us boyfriend and girlfriend?" She asked him. Her tone was joking, but she wanted to know what they were to each other.

"No," and Bella tried to hide her disappointment once again. Edward gently lifted her chin with his forefinger so he could look into her eyes. "This makes us so much more." He kissed her softly this time for far too short of a kiss in Bella's opinion. "And I was the one who arranged the car service for you tonight, so I'll be giving you a ride home. I guess this means we have a little more time to kiss, don't we?" He murmured in her ear.


	16. Awesome

**A/N- I don't even know what to say. R/l has been kind of busy at the moment. I'm back and won't stop until I finish this story. I'm going to try to finish by the end of next month cause after that it's college for me. This is the last chapter for June prompts and I will pick up with yesterday's. If I get at least ten reviews I will post two chapters by noon eastern time.**

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Date: June 15, 2013

Penname: MeantforMore

Prompt: Awesome

Rated: M

Bella awoke with a start the Saturday morning following the night of the gala. Her hand reached up to touch her still swollen lips. She remembered with a smile on her face kissing Edward in the back of the town car. They had allowed their hands to roam over each other's bodies, and neither could find it in themselves to be ashamed.

Neither wanted to part when they arrived at Bella's apartment building, but their relationship was still brand new. They had to take things slowly especially since he did have a child to think of.

She yawned and stretched before getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom to get ready for the day. She had a date later in the afternoon with him, and she was a little nervous. She had never really been in a serious relationship before, and had only gone on a few dates in high school and college.

She showered and brushed her teeth. Her hair was actually cooperating, and hung in silky waves down her back. Her make-up was light with a nude eyeshadow and a little mascara.

She picked out jean shorts and an emerald green tank to wear for their picnic later. He told her not to worry about anything except looking as beautiful as she always did.

It was a little after one when there was a knock on the door. She tried to hide her excitement by slowly walking to get the door. She pulled it open to reveal Edward and Ari.

Bella was shocked at how much the little girl had grown in the past year. Her hair was lighter than before making her eyes more blue than green. She had chopped her hair, and it was just below her shoulders. Her little ringlets bounced as her little body vibrated with excitement. Bella could barely hold back a chuckle.

"Bella!" The little girl squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around her waist. Bella slowly wrapped hers around the little girl while Edward's eyes danced merrily. "I just knew you and Daddy would end up together." She said once she pulled back. A giant smile stretched across her tiny face, and Bella couldn't help but smile back. She was too adorable for her own good.

"Okay, Ari enough scaring her for one day." Edward warned, though his tone seemed somewhat playful as he pried the little girl away from Bella. "I hope you don't mind that I bring her. She was more than excited to see you again." He gave her a little kiss on the cheek, handing her a bouquet of flowers. It was an assortment of lilies and pink roses.

"Thank you, I love them. Let me go put them in a vase, and we can go. Want to help Ari?" The little girl nodded causing her curls to bounce erratically.

Ari helped her with the vase, and she picked the perfect spot to place it. She decided since Bella lived by herself that it should go in her bedroom on her bedside table. Bella agreed wholeheartedly as the light would hit the flowers just right during sunrises.

Bella sauntered back into the living room with Ari, and soon the trio was ready to leave. Bella grabbed her purse, and slung it over her head to rest on her shoulder. She had seen the bag at a little shop in downtown Seattle, and couldn't resist.

The towncar was waiting outside the building for them. Edward opened the door for them, and Ari slid in first followed by Bella. Edward slid in next to her, and Bella found she had a hard time keeping herself together. She tried to keep her composure, but she was finding it difficult with Edward sitting so close to her.

Ari was obivious to the tension between her Dad and Bella. Both of them fidgeted in their seats, fighting with themselves. They were trying to keep their hands to themselves, and not move too fast with the relationship. Both of them knew they had to talk through a lot of stuff before they would become serious.

They needed to discuss the past, and how to proceed with an inter-work relationship. Neither wanted anyone they worked with to know about them being together as problems could arise. They both knew that people had speculated whether they were together over the past three years. The office was a place of gossip that could put teenage girls and women of the church to shame.

The car finally stopped somewhere outside of the city. There were trees surrounding the area, and Bella noticed a trail. She raised her eyebrows at Edward, who only smiled in return. He helped Ari put of the car, and grabbed a picnic basket from the trunk. He told the driver something, and afterwards he drove off.

She was glad to have worn comfortable shoes because the hike was about thirty minutes from where they were dropped off. Ari had complained fifteen minutes into it, and Edward hoisted her up onto his back. Bella grabbed the picnic basket from his hands and carried it herself.

Finally the trail cleared and Bella found herself gazing into the most beautiful meadow she had ever laid eyes on. Flowers covered the forest floor, and Bella could hear running water in the distance. She admired the flowers in bloom. She imagined there was about every color you could think of, and the trees were greener than most.

She loved she could smell the fresh air, something that the city lacked. She laid down on the blanket, and inhaled deeply, allowing the smells to cloud her senses. She had always loved the outdoors as a child, but growing up in the city made it sort of impossible to experience it. The sky was clear, and a vibrant blue. It was oddly not raining for once.

Edward and Ari joined her on the blanket. "What are you looking at Bella?" She asked her, laying down next to her.

"Nothing except what a beautiful day it is, sweetheart. I love when I can smell the grass or trees. I love the 'it just rained smell'."

"Me too!" The young girl exclaimed. "I also love when you can see deer. Animals are my favorite. I'm going to be a vet one day." Bella smiled at the girl.

"I bet you are." She tapped her nose.

"Alright ladies it's lunchtime." Edward announced, ending the moment. He had sandwiches on one plate, grapes on another, cheese, and of course dessert.

"You are full of surprises Mr. Cullen." She told him, taking a bit of her sandwich. He poured her a glass of apple cider. She smiled at him, and wondered not for the first time how a guy could be so wonderful. He truly understood what she needed more than she did.


	17. Upbeat, Upfront, Uproar

**A/N- Hey guys if there is anyone left, I'm terribly sorry about my lack of updates. I know I promised I would update immediately but things were out of my hands. My parents are going through a divorce, and it's been difficult to deal with. I will not stop until I finish this story. As usual I don't own Twilight, and all mistakes are mine. **

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Edward was surprisingly chipper in the next couple of weeks. The smile almost never faded from his face except when he was yelling at an employee or trying to arrange a new book deal.

He and Bella had gone on a few more dates with his wonderful daughter. He remembered one particular date where he took her out to Canlis.

_He had made a reservation using his family's connections to the Canlis family. His mother just happened to best friends with the owner's wife. They had gone to college together, and it was totally worth it to use his godmother for a private room. He even got a discount for The Caché room thanks to his pseudo aunt and uncle. _

_It was totally worth it to spend all of the money anyways as he got to see Bella's expression at the incredible view of Lake Union. The sun setting over the water was amazing, and Bella didn't even try to close her mouth as she gazed at it. _

_For the first course both opted to have The Canlis salad, which was an old family recipe created by their grandmother. _

_"This is absolutely amazing Edward," Bella exclaimed, after eating another bite of her salad. _

_Edward swallowed his food. "Is this your first time here?" He was genuinely curious; he knew it was an expensive restaurant. _

_Her cheeks coloured a delicious shade of pink. "Uh yeah, it's just as a child my parents weren't exactly showy people. They preferred to save more than anything," then as if she realised what she said, she continues on, "not that there is anything wrong with eating at nice restaurants if you can afford it. My family has always been your typical middle class family." Her blush began creeping down her neck as she continued to ramble. _

_He decided to put her out of her misery. "It's fine sweetheart. I understand. My mother didn't come from family and neither did my father. They both worked their butts off to provide for me and my sister. Well there's my brother but I don't really want to talk about him." He took a sip of his wine to cut off his talking. _

_They finished their salads when Andrea checked up on them. "You're food will be out soon enough." Then she quickly departed to give them more privacy. _

_"If you don't mind my asking why did you finally ask me out?" He could tell she had been wanting to ask that question for a while. _

_He leaned back in his seat. "I didn't and still don't deserve you. My family is under the public eye quite often; any girl I choose to be with would be heavily scrutinised as well. My father is running for Congress next year, and when that knowledge is released to the public it'll be even more of a media circuit that normal. I didn't want to have feelings for you."_

_Bella seemed to consider this, but he saw her bristle slightly when he said he didn't deserve her. "You don't get to make that decision. You must accept that I'm choosing to be with you of my own free will. Yeah, if we had dated back then people would've talked a lot about me. But we both aren't those people anymore, and you've got a little girl. We are going to make this work as best we can."_

_Edward bit his tongue, holding off his angry retort. He didn't need to piss her off any further. At that moment their food arrived halting all conversation. _

_Bella dug right into her Cauliflower while he began cutting up his halibut. She had a side of truffle fries, and he got a potato. They split a Canlis Soufflé for dessert. _

_They took a drive, and arrived at a little park. Both tool a seat on the swingset. Bella giggled a little, and Edward shot a confused at her. "It's just been a while since I've been the one swinging. My baby sister always wants me to push her. Well so did my brother when he was younger." _

_He was starting to discover that she was a strange woman, but that was just something else he loved about her. "So lets play twenty questions," he suggested after a few minutes of the swings creaking. "What's your favourite colour?"_

_"Mint or emerald green, and yours?" She fired back. _

_"Hmm… I don't really have one. I have grown partial to brown. But I never really had a favourite colour. Where's your favourite place in the entire world?"_

_He could see her eyebrows furrowing, a tell-tale sign she was thinking deeply. He lips puckered before she began chewing on her bottom lip. Her little nose crinkled. "I guess Central Park. As a child my mother and stepfather used to take me every weekend, and I would choose a different area of the park each time. In the winter we would go sleeding if it snowed a lot. I haven't been back since, but it was some of the best parts of my childhood. We bring a picnic with us in the spring and summer and lay out a big blanket." She sighed wistfully, and he knew it was still painful for her to talk about. "How did you and Tara meet?" _

_Honestly was always the best policy so he explained how they had known each since childhood. Their mothers ran in the same social circles. He explained how everyone expected them to eventually to get together, and how at first things were good but she became distant. When Ariana was conceived she wanted an abortion, and called the young girl a monstrosity. _

_Bella gasped and tears formed in her honey brown eyes. He moved to wipe them away, and she leaned into the warmth of his hand. "How could someone not love their own child?" She wondered aloud. It was something Edward had wondered about himself many a time. He wasn't sure if he would ever get his answer. They stayed out for two more hours before he dropped her back home. _

_He lingered at her apartment door for a few seconds before pulling her into a heart stopping kiss that caused her toes to curl. His mind was fuzzy as all he could focus on were his lips on hers. He finally pulled back using every last ounce of restraint he had left. _

They had quite a bit more dates in the past two months. Today he was meeting with Jasper to discuss the new author that had signed with his office more than a year ago. He knew The Assistant was going to be a highly popular novel especially with women.

He had even read the novel himself, and was impressed by the author's first book. He was having problems meeting with the elusive author, and Jasper kept preventing him at every turn.

"Why can't I meet with Ms. Dwyer? I have contracts I need her to sign as we want to do a three book deal. We also need to discuss all her publicity appearances."

"Look Edward she's willing to do the public reading in a month at the book release signing. She's abroad at the moment." He drawled in his deep southern Texas accent.

Edward sighed and raked his fingers through his unruly hair. "Fine fine, but I want her to call me so we can arrange all the details. I'm starting think she wants to be some sort of secret. Is she hideous or disfigured? Most of my authors can't wait to meet to discuss any sort of deals."

Jasper's eyes darted for a brief moment. "I can't tell you anything you don't already know. I'll pass on the message. Well if that's all, I have a meeting with someone one of my employees recently discovered." They shook hands before Jasper left him alone in his office.

There was something weird going on, but he put it out of his mind as he had to meet with his family for dinner. He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair before leaving his office. Just as he opened the door Bella appeared on the other side with a breathtaking smile that she only ever did for him.

"Oh hey," she said surprised by his sudden appearance. "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner at my place to tonight?" He hated to take the smile off of her pretty face, but he knew he had to.

"I'm sorry I can't. I have dinner with my entire family tonight." He gave her his best apologetic face.

The problem was instead of being disappointed like he expected her face morphed into one of anger. "You know what I'm done. I'm guessing this isn't your first family dinner since we've started dating. I guess I'm not good enough to meet the precious Cullen family. Whatever," she muttered angrily. "I'm done. I refuse to be kept a secret."

He grabbed her arm before she could walk more than a step. "Is that what you really think?" He asked her, trying to reign in his own anger. She nodded vigorously. "I could say the same for you. Afraid of bringing me home to your family because of whatever ridiculous reason you have formed in that pretty little head of yours." She gaped like a fish at him.

He laughed haughtily at her. "I don't even know what we are. How can I bring you home to my overbearing family?"

She snatched her arm from his grasp. Her face was getting redder by the second. "We," she gestured between the two of them, "Are nothing, I didn't bring you home because I was hoping you would bring me home first. I mean your family lives here in Seattle. We would have to travel three hours to visit mine. But I don't give a shit anymore. Maybe this was some sort of sick joke for you, oh she's pretty now let's take her out. Well I'm not playing whatever game you are. I quit." He watched without uttering a single word as she retreated back to the elevators.

Her heels clicking on floor and with a swish of her hips she entered the elevator. He had no idea what spurred on any of that. His brain was trying to comprehend what had just happened, but all he could think about was how fucking hot she looked when she was angry.

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**A/N- Please leave me some love to let me know that there is still someone reading. I will try to update tomorrow, but I'm done promising. **


	18. Wallow

**A/N- We all agree Bella jumped the gun. She was being an idiot, and said things she obviously didn't mean. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Also welcome to the newcomers. As usual all mistakes are mine.**

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For Bella these last two months had been the best of her life, but doubt still managed to niggle at her. She felt justified leaving Edward's office the way she did. In the heat of the moment Bella had meant every single word that had come out of her mouth.

In hindsight, she had sort of jumped the gun. In hindsight, it hadn't exactly been her crowning moment. She pushed her face into one of the decorative pillows settled on her couch. She was beyond frustrated with him; he refused to even introduce her to his family as more than just an employee.

She had met his parents before, but never as his girlfriend and she was beginning to think that he was ashamed of her. She knew that her family was your typical middle class family with an average sized home. Her parents worked constantly while managing to take care of her younger siblings. She had nothing to be ashamed of.

Her mother always told her as a teenager how her temper was going to cost her one time. She had always been a hothead, and that got her into all sorts of trouble in her youth. She wanted to stay on her couch and never leave.

Her book could not get published for all she cared. She wanted nothing to do with her now ex-boyfriend. She began to laugh hysterically once it all sunk in what she had done. In a way, it was sort of liberating to be free. It was like a weight being lifted off her shoulders or the sun after the rain.

She knew that she was probably a sight cackling maniacally on her sofa, but in that moment she felt completely helpless. Laughing didn't make it real, no thinking did that, and if there was ever something she didn't want to do it was think. Thinking meant that she had to admit she ripped out her own heart by her words. She saw the utter devastation written all over Edward's face as she ended things.

She felt his eyes trail behind her as she sashayed away too angry to even have an ounce of rationality. She would have to think about the ache that hasn't ceased in her heart since her abrupt departure. She never knew it felt like this when you break up with someone you actually lo-.… _Wait love? _She couldn't possibly be in love with him, she though desperately. Her chest fluttered at the mere mention of him in a way it had never done so with her previous boyfriends. _  
_

She wiped away the silly tears that streamed down her face. "I'm in love with Edward Cullen, and I just broke up with him." She stated completely dazed at this epiphany. She smacked her forehead as she exclaimed, "I'm an idiot." She leaned back into the sofa, and immersed herself into whatever reality tv show was on.

An hour later there was a knock on the door. She grabbed the money for her purse to pay for her large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. When she pulled back the door, she gasped at the sight on the other side of her door. It was Edward, but he didn't look as he did a few hours before. He was ragged with his hair even messier than usual. His eyes were red and puffy, while his face was completely flushed. His clothes were wrinkles, and he appeared out of breath.

His eyes though said what his face could not. She knew he was angry especially the way his nostrils flared. She had always known to stray away from him when his nostrils flared in such a way. She was about say something before he cut her off. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to navigate through traffic in Seattle on a Friday?" She shook her head emphatically.

In truth, she usually arrived home well past ten on any given night. She preferred to finish her work instead of opting to take it home. Of course, since she had begun dating Edward, she no longer put in as many of the hours as she once did. Normally, she would stay late at least twice a week when they didn't have any scheduled plans.

"I was dumbfounded after you had made your exit. I couldn't believe you who hopes and believes in everything with all she has would think such a thing. Maybe I didn't want to share you with my family. Have you ever thought of that?" He snorted derisively, and Bella felt herself turned on at his angry voice. "Of course not," he said not even giving her a chance to answer. "You only think about yourself, and not us as a couple. I don't understand why it is you think I don't love you." She gasped, but either he didn't notice his choice or words or it was completely obvious to him that that was what is was.

"You never let me get away with anything, and now it's my turn to make sure you don't do the same. We aren't going to do this half-assed. We are either all in or all out." It seemed his little rant had come to an end, and he stared at her expectantly.

"Oh are you done now? I'm sorry okay. I'm an irrational person, and my mother warned me years ago my temper and ability to jump to conclusions was going to be my downfall. I've never felt this way before in any sort of relationship. I love you as well, and I know you weren't hiding me from your family." She chuckled. "How could you with a five year old?" Deciding that whatever just happened was over, Edward stepped forward and gently cupped her face.

He leaned ever slowly until his lips gently descended upon hers. It was like fire and ice as his blood began to boil at the mere touch of her skin. His heart pounded erratically as his lips continued to move on hers. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The kiss turned frantic as neither of them could get enough of each other.

Edward finally pulled away when his lungs began to constrict. His lips immediately attached to the silly skin on her neck, and he trailed his lips down to her collarbone. She let out some delicious sounds that were music to his ears as she pulled him inside. She closed the door with her foot, and a second later found herself under him on the couch.

His lips left her skin scorching, and she couldn't take the burning anymore. She needed him, all of him. "Edward," she moaned. "Please…" she said breathily. Edward groaned as his dick let itself be known. He grinded his erection into her, causing her to emit severa moans. "Oh god," she whimpered, enjoying the friction immensely.

He continued his assault on her body after removing her shirt. He stared hungrily at her chest because he had never two perfect breasts such as these ever. She had two nice handfuls with perfect pink nipples. He took one into his mouth as he squeezed the other.

"More, more," she pleaded with him as he continued to push his erection into her, driving her crazy. She a begging, pleading mess under him, and totally under his control. She was at his mercy.

She could feel the coiling of her muscles as he continually pushed against her. She knew she was close as he continued to make a drooling mess out of her. She pushed back against him, wanting more, always wanting more. When she couldn't hold back anymore she screamed her love for him. As his face contorted and he grunted as he came. He collapsed on top of her as he came down from his high.

"Did you mean it?" He asked sleeping, after he caught his breath. She was stroking his hair, and he purred a little.

She knew what he was asking and answered in the affirmative. "Good cause I love you too Isabella." Her insides warmed as her eyes drifted close. Her hands stilled in his hair as he heard the slight snores. He chuckled a little because they reminded him of his daughter.

He framed his head upward to catch a glimpse of his sleeping brown eyed beauty. She had a childlike innocence about her as she slept. He slowly manoeuvred himself off of her so that he could carry her to her bed. She groaned in protest when he first picked her up, but the quickly snuggled into him, mourning a soft, "Edward."

She refused to let go as be tried to settle her in her bed, and made the decision to stay. She nuzzled her head underneath his chin as her body curled into his head. "I will love you forever Isabella Marie." He silently vowed before sleep overcame him.

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**A/N- There I fixed it. It doesn't mean it's perfect or anything because they still need to talk, but they are on the right path now. Please leave some love because I totally need it right now. Thanks again to all who reviewed. **


	19. Carve

**A/N- Three chapters within twenty-four hours, how awesome am I? Thanks to everyone who reviewed. As usual all mistakes are mine. And I don't own Twilight. This is also my longest chapter yet for this story.**

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Bella felt an arm around her waist as she came to. She realised quickly she was in her bed, and the person snuggled up to her was Edward. She turned herself in her arms so that she was facing him.

His eyes were closed, but she knew beneath them were the greenest and most beautiful eyes she knew. His hair hung off of his forehead, and she gently swiped it back. He sighed as her skin made contact with his. His face was the most relaxed she had ever seen it. All the anger from his body was long gone.

He smiled softly in his sleep as his arms tightened around her. However, her bladder couldn't wait any longer, and she had to pry his arms away from her body. She scurried across the cold floor of her apartment to her bathroom. She quickly took care of her needs and brushed her teeth to rid herself of morning breath. When she returned back to her bedroom, Edward was still fast asleep.

She watched him sleeping, and couldn't help but admire how good he looked in her bed. She climbed back in the bed to snuggle back up to him. His arms immediately wrapped around her waist. "Mhm..." He murmured softly, nuzzling his nose in her hair. "I thought you had gone." She knew instantly he wasn't talking about her going to the bathroom. "You mean more to me than any other girlfriend I have ever had. I am not just saying that. I know actions speak louder than words, and I will do anything to prove it to you. I called my mom last night." He winced slightly. "Yeah, well let's just say she is prepared to disown me. She is a tad angry with me for never previously inviting you to one of our family dinners. So tonight, if you would like would you please come over for dinner with my family?" He pouted at her, and she shoved him gently.

"What are you five?" She asked, laughing at his indignant expression. "And to answer your question yes." He captured her lips with his own, and he swiped outside of her lip with his tongue. She giggled, but allowed him entrance. He pulled her closer, but she pushed back. He look at her with confusion in his eyes. "Not that I'm saying I don't like that, but I don't think we are quite there yet. We literally just had our first fight last night, and we can't solve everything with fooling around. If we want this relationship to work we need to open up the lines of communication between the two of us." It had sounded much better in her head, but she wasn't going to take the words back now. She knew they couldn't solve their problems like that because then over time that's how they would end up solving everything.

He shifted away from her, and she instantly missed the closeness between the two of them. "Uh yes," he said uncomfortably. "I guess you are right. We need to discuss what prompted everything last night. I want this to be more one day. I know neither of us are ready for that, but I hope someday we can get there." She glanced into his eyes and saw the sincerity shining in them. His eyes were the most expressive part of him; she had years of experience dealing with him, and knew how to figure out if he was telling her the truth or merely having her on. "Can you tell me why you don't feel you are enough for me?" She saw the sadness etched into his face.

She cupped his face and grinned at feeling the morning stubble. "All my life, I don't know... the Cullen family always seemed so much bigger. I know what Tara and your previous girlfriends look like. All blonde, blue eyed, and leggy, I'm not like that."

He finally realised the problem she was insecure. She had seen his previous girlfriends, and automatically assumed that they were his type. "I do admit that I haven't exactly dated anyone outside of that stereotype, but honestly none of them truly meant anything to me. They weren't you. You bring so much warmth and laughter into my life. You aren't afraid of what others think of you. You march to the beat of your own drum." She coloured slightly at this. "It's not a bad thing just so you know. You are different, and I love that about you. You are also completely insane." He laughed.

Bella scooted closer to him. "Yeah, I am a little crazy. I guess it just frightened me that maybe you weren't in this as much as I am. Because if I am being completely honest with myself I am completely head over heels in love with you. I honestly can't go ten minutes without thinking about you, which sounds totally bananas, but it's like I need you as much as the air I breathe. I may have made some assumptions regarding the fact that you may have only been with me as a joke. I know that's not the case, but sometimes I can't help but feel I'm just not good enough."

He grabbed her head, "Isabella Marie Swan, I am in love with you. I don't even know when it happened. Part of me thinks it was probably the reason that I left in the first place. I didn't want to overwhelm you with my feelings, which is why I never said anything of the sort before now. I think I loved you since you first walked into my office, stumbling all over the place. I don't want anyone else, only you." He stated. "I love your long brown hair, and your big brown eyes. I really love when you blush because it makes you even more beautiful than you already are. I love when you chew on your lip when you are concentrating, or when you add a little extra swish of your hips when you are being a tease. I want it all with you Bella. I want to one day get married, and have children and live in a house on a decent size of property for all of our kids to run around on. I want to grow old with you, and above all I want to make sure that you know I love you every single day." This was too much for Bella and she began sobbing. Edward pulled her into his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his middle as she cried.

He kissed the top of her head, and held on tightly to her. After ten minutes or so of crying on her boyfriend, she was reduced to sniffles and hiccups. "I want that to." She whispered into his chest.

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That night Edward picked her up at five o'clock to take her over to his parents'. "There's really no need to be nervous Bella. You've already met my dad even if it was in a professional capacity. He already likes you, and my mom hears Ari talk about you all the time. She is beyond excited. Now my brother and sister will be there tonight as well with their families. But we only mostly see them during the holiday season, so you won't have to see them often." His pep talk was exactly what she needed to hear. "Besides baby, you met my mother at the gala, and she had nothing but nice things to say about you. Relax, and you'll be fine. I promise." He grabbed her hand, and brought it to his lips to place a light kiss on it. Just the mere touch of his lips on her skin brought on a tingling sensation in her navel.

This man had the ability to turn her into a pool of mush. His family lived on Bainbridge and chose to commute to Seattle. They drove through Battlefield, a neighborhood she knew to be extremely expensive. They drove through a thicket of trees and stopped at a beautiful home, surrounded by trees. The house had a very suburban look to it. The garage/guesthouse was attached to the house, and the driveway was lined by rocks. The house reminded her of something inside of a fairytale, and was absolutely gorgeous. He parked outside of the two car garage, and rushed to the other side of the car to open the door for her. She knew this was something he loved to do for her, and she also found his chivalrous side sexy.

She grabbed his hand as helped her out of the vehicle. They walked across the driveway to the porch where two white pillars held up the front of the house. The door was mostly glass, but the part that wasn't was painted white. They entered the house, and she noticed the very open floor plan. He led her through the family room into one of the most magnificent kitchens she had ever seen. The countertops were marble, and a nice large island sat in the middle with a few people seated at it. His mother worked diligently around the kitchen while his father and siblings sat talking away. The kitchen was supplied with the most modern appliances.

His mother looked over her shoulder at their arrival, and she beamed brightly at the girl. "Hello Bella dear, how are you?" Bella was completely caught off guard.

She grinned at her. She had a way of disarming people, and making them completely comfortable. "Oh I'm great." She told her earnestly. Edward gently squeezed her hand, letting her know he was there in silent support.

His mother had her caramel coloured hair slicked back into a ponytail that ended just below her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a green blouse with a frilly apron. She turned back to her task of preparing dinner. Edward led her over to the island where I met his siblings. "This is my sister Claire, a total pain in the ass." She poked her tongue out at him. "She's thirty-three." His sister had their father's dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. She had her mother's high cheek bones and darker complexion. She was absolutely beautiful.

She held out her hand for Bella to take. "It's nice to meet you Bella. I've been hearing so much about you from Ariana. The girl simply adores you." His sister smiled at her, and she found herself relaxing. She couldn't even remember why she was so nervous in the first place.

"This is my brother Ben. He's thirty-five almost thirty-six. He lives in New York while Claire lives in Chicago." His brother was a ginger with blue eyes like their father. He looked a lot like his father except for the hair and freckles.

Footsteps alerted the group to more people entering the room. Bella saw Ari leading the way; the girl ran straight over to Bella. "I missed you Bella." She cried, hugging her legs. Bella patted the girl's young head. She picked the girl up to hold on her hip. She missed her too.

Bella saw more people hanging around, and figured them to be the spouses and children of Edward's siblings. "This is Quil Ateara. He is from the Quilleute reservation, which is actually how him and Claire met."

"Oh you're Chief Swan's daughter?" He asked, coming around to shake her hand. Bella raised her eyebrows at him. "I used to babysit your sister Alice when she was ten."

That made a lot of sense. It was before her dad started dating Sue so he employed babysitters to watch her sister. "Oh, uh yeah that's my dad."

"I recognise you from the pictures though your hair isn't as bushy anymore." Bella blushed, deeply embarrassed by that. Claire elbowed him in the ribs for that.

"Ignore him, he is a jackass. He's only trying to rile you up." He grinned at his wife before shooting Bella an apologetic look. Claire merely laughed off her husband.

"Hey Bells," the other person said. Bella craned her head to see her college roommate Angela.

"Angie!" She exclaimed excitedly. They had lost contact with each other when they had graduated. They had lazily sent e-mails back and forth to one another, but not as often as they once did. "Oh so this is who you married? You told me you were dating some guy named Ben." She hugged her friend with Ari still in her arms. The girl merrily giggled.

"Like you're one to talk." Everyone in the room stared at the duo confused.

Bella decided to clear everything up. "Ange and I were best friends in college. We met freshman year when we became roommates, and stayed friends all four years. We kept in contact the first year out of school, but life and our jobs sort of got in the way."

Ben got up and wrapped his arms around his wife. "So this is the famous Bella who convinced you to go streaking with her when you guys were drunk?" Bella and Angela both flushed at the reminder, piquing everyone's interest.

Bella shrugged, hoping the subject would be dropped. Unfortunately, Edward wanted to hear all about his girlfriend's escapades in college. "This sounds like a riveting tale. Do tell us Bella."

If possible, Bella's blush deepened further. She knew how stubborn Edward was. "Oh fine, it's highly embarrassing. We were in Alpha Xi Delta, and we threw a huge party that happened to have an exorbitant amount of booze. Well, I had quite a bit of alcohol in my system, okay a lot." She admitted when Angela gave her 'the look'. "Anyways I grabbed Angela from whatever guy she was dating at the time, and suggested we go streaking across campus. Now here's the real kicker everyone cheered us on, and we were totally wasted. People knew that too, and still let us go around the campus with nothing on. It was completely embarrassing. Campus police almost caught us too. We managed to make it back to our dorm. It was before we moved into the sorority house our senior year." Everyone was laughing at them.

"What's so funny B?" Ari asked her.

Bella huffed. "Nothing that you need to know about sweetheart." The little girl pouted, and Bella kissed her chubby cheek.

When everyone finally calmed down, Edward introduced her to his nephews and nieces. Bella couldn't believe that Angela already had two kids. She had a daughter named Megan and a son Jamie. Claire had three kids, and all of them were boys much to her annoyance. They were all little pains in the asses, and were constantly wrestling or pranking. Bella had never wanted to wring a child's neck before she met them. The oldest was named Thomas, but he preferred Tommy. Then came Alexander who like Xander, and the youngest who was six was Emmett.

"I know they're little demon children." Edward whispered in her ear causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stick up.

She turned around to face him and felt her lips tugging up in a smile. "I hope you know our children will never be playing with them." She pecked him on the lips before following Ari to her bedroom.

"This is my room B." The room was painted mint green with purple butterflies accenting the room. Her curtains were lilac with little white flowers imprinted on them. Her bedspread was lilac as well, matching her curtains. Bella wasn't expecting her room to not be pink. She thought Ari was one of those little girls who loved pink everything like her little sister but clearly not. There wasn't a single pink item in the girl's room.

Bella took a seat on the floor, leaning against the bed. "I guess you're not a fan of pink?" She asked in a joking manner. From the expression of disgust on the girl's face she knew that the color was far from her favorite list.

"Yuck. That is a horrible color. Do you like pink Bella?" Bella shook her head no. She definitely didn't like pink. Her room was painted a light shade of yellow when she was younger. "Oh good," the girl breathed out. "Then I would have to say sorry. No I like green and purple. My nana did the room for me when I was baby. I only stay here on weekends now though." Bella loved the girl immensely, and enjoyed spending time with her. "B?" She asked hesitantly, drawing Bella's attention.

"What is it sweetheart?" She questioned, scooping the little girl into her arms.

The girl chewed her lip nervously. "Are you and my daddy going to get married?" Bella stared at her, trying to figure out how to answer.

"Maybe sweetheart, I'm not going to promise you. But I hope so." The girl snuggled into her chest.

"I hope so too. That way you can be my mommy." Bella's heart went out to the little girl. She had two sets of parents that helped raised her. "I love you Bella."

"I love you too Ari." She kissed the top of the girl's head, inhaling her flowery scent. "Come on, I'm sure dinner is done. We better get back downstairs." Bella realised that both Ariana and Edward were carving their way into her heart. She even loved his family. She hoped that one day they would have the opportunity to get married like she told Ari.

Dinner went smoothly, and Bella found herself falling asleep on the drive back home. Edward carried her up to her apartment, but he didn't stay that night. She understood he had a child, and his family was only in town for a brief period time. She was fast asleep before he even closed the door.

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**A/N- How cute was that? And who knew Bella had crazy days? Leave some love cause it makes me happy when you review.**


	20. Plight

**A/N- Sorry it's been a while. This isn't really my greatest chapter, but at least it's something. I've been so busy with school starting. I moved in three weeks ago, and it's been pretty crazy ever since. Please review, and I'm sorry for the suckiness.**

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"Bella, wait please," he pleaded, but she was already running. "Let me explain." She didn't want to hear him though. She wanted to be as far from his as possible. Tears streamed wildly down her face, but she didn't care. She wanted to be gone, gone, and gone.

1 day earlier

She had been dating him for almost five months now. The publishing of her book had been put on the backburner as marketing wanted to figure out the best way to release the book. She didn't mind though as long as there were still plans to publish her book.

Her relationship was better than ever. Ever since that conversation they had had about secrets they had been more open to one another about their plans. Bella had finally belted up and taken him to meet her family. That had been an experience.

Her father had been uncharacteristically rude to him the entire time. Her mother well, she had been far nosier than usual. Her siblings kept hounding him, and Seth tried to act menacing. It was all laughable at best, and she was surprised he wanted to be with her after all of that.

She had a meeting with Jasper later that night to discuss more plans for the release. They were in the works of negotiating a book tour. There was still a secret Bella hadn't told Edward, the book. She didn't even know how she would broach the subject. She hadn't exactly written him in a very good spotlight, and most of the facts were true. There were a few minor details she added for the drama, but otherwise she stuck to the truth.

She hadn't seen Edward in a week as he had been out of town on business. His father had given him more responsibility in the family company besides the publishing company. He was gone more frequently. She wasn't worried though; he called her every night from wherever he was. They sometimes facetimed each other if they had the time.

She was running late for her dinner meeting with Jasper since she decided to stay on the phone for a few extra minutes. "Hello," she kissed his cheeks. "Sorry I am late." She apologised. She took a seat across from him.

A waitress came over to hand her a menu and ask her drink order. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Lemonade," she told her. She looked over the menu when she left.

"Okay, Bella I have the final contract for you. The book tour is two weeks, but if they deem it necessary they will add more dates. You might even have to go international as well depending on sales. I know freaks you out, but that's the best I could do. Publicity for a book is everything. You should be honoured that they are putting this much into your book. Not everyone gets a book tour for their first book. People are already getting hyped up about it. This is going to be big."

Bella nodded. She figured as much. She knew that pre-sales of her book had gone through the roof. "I'll sign it." She finally said. "I know they said they want it to be trilogy. I guess I can agree to that. They've had the three book stipulation since the very beginning. I've already begun working on the sequel."

Jasper took a sip of his tea. "Bella, you must also realise that you might have to do some television interviews, maybe even radio."

"I understand." She told him. And she did, more than she thought she ever would.

"They are already talking about movie rights. You've got to understand that there is a huge possibility that someone will by the rights to your book. The movie industry is booming, and movies based off of books do pretty well in cinemas."

"I know Jasper. I thought this would be easy in the beginning. It has completely snowballed now." She took a deep breath. "I don't know what to do anymore about Edward. If I tell him now he's going to be upset. I have lied by omission to him for over a year now. There is no coming back from that." Jasper moved his chair to sit beside her, and gently rubbed her back as she sobbed into her hands. Their dinner was long forgotten as he provided her comfort.

He didn't know what to say to help her. She had dug a hole for herself, and there wasn't going to be an easy way to get out of it. "Darlin, all I can say is that when you do tell him, make sure he knows you didn't intend to hurt him. You have one of the purest souls I have ever met, and you could never be spiteful. Edward is going to be in a pretty rough place when he finds out about this. He is going to think you betrayed him, which you have essentially done. I'm not placing any judgement though. You did what you thought was best. Now, you have to own up to your mistakes and face the heat."

She sniffled, but knew what he said was right. She couldn't keep lying to him anymore. It was wrong, and the longer she delayed it the more pain she was going to cause him in the long run.

After the meeting Bella went straight home to deliberate her options. She was in a sticky situation that had only two outcomes. Neither was that great, one resulted in them staying together, but he would never trust her again. The other was too painful to even consider. She fell asleep to prevent herself from getting a headache.

The next day went by way too fast for her liking, and she found herself outside of Edward's house. She had no idea how she ended up there, only that through the grapevine she had discovered that he had gotten in the night before. She was a little hurt that he didn't even think to call her, but brushed off, thinking that maybe he had a good reason.

She knocked on his door and a blonde woman answered. Bella immediately knew who she was. It was Tara, Edward's ex, and Ariana's mother.

She smirked at Bella's gobsmacked expression. "You must be Bella. Edward doesn't want to see you." She told her.

Bella's throat constricted. Her heart was pounding so fast, she was afraid it was going to be right out of her chest. "Y-y-you're Tara?" She stuttered. She had no idea why she was stumbling over her words.

"Yes, and I am back. I'm here to take what is rightfully mine. You may have temporarily replaced me, but I'm here now."

Bella turned quickly on her heel. "Bella?" She heard Edward say. "What did you say to her?" He yelled.

"Only the truth Eddie," she purred at him.

"Bella, wait please," she was running by this point. "Let me explain." He pleaded.

"Explain what?" She yelled. "Were you only using me until she came back? Is that what this has all been about?" She couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer, and they spilled from her eyes. "Here, I thought you love me, but you were only waiting until dumb and blonde came back. Have a nice life Edward. I'm done. My resignation will be on your desk tomorrow, and my office will be cleaned up by next week."

"Don't do this." He begged.

"I didn't, you did." She turned quickly, and rushed to her car. She sped away without a second look. She was done with Edward Cullen. She knew it had all been too good to be true.


	21. Mattress

**A/N- Okay here's another chapter. I know my posting is a bit erratic, but I don't have as much time to right as I once did. I know some of you are angry with Bella so hopefully this chapter explains things. I decided that Edward's side of things will be an outtake that I will post after the epilogue. We still have some ways to go so don't worry. Thanks for the reviews, and that guest reviewer you are totally right. She does always leave at the first chance, but I think that's one thing that is very Bella. Even in the books she never truly thought she was good enough, and even told him it never made sense why she was him. Well review, and I'll see what I can do about another chapter.**

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Mattress. That was something she was well acquainted with. It had become her best friend in his absence. She never wanted to leave it again. She preferred to order in most night, though she did manage to get out of bed and cook a few nights. She could barely remember the last time she had left her apartment.

The weather seemed to dampen her mood further. She lay in bed depressed with an ache that never left. It snowed and hailed outside while she cried in her bed. She had never let a man determine her life before, but he had meant so much to her. She paid her bills she was able to pay online, and took care of the others when they were due. It was one of the few times she got out of bed, otherwise that was where she resided.

The second she saw Tara at Edward's all of her feminist principles went right out of the window. A man had ruled her life, and she had enjoyed it. She lost more than just Edward though, she lost Ariana who she had grown close to. She lost his entire family, and at the moment she was technically jobless. She supposed she could become a full time author.

She called Jasper often and they had conferences over the computer, but she preferred the solitude and safety her apartment provided. This wasn't to say she was out of shape because she wasn't. She was constantly on her treadmill when she became restless. She was surprised she hadn't gone stir crazy yet, but then again this was self-imposed isolation. She had lost control of her life, and she was trying to put herself back together one day at a time.

She stopped crying all the time by the second week. It had been a month at this point, and Christmas was only in a few days. Her family had been calling her often, but she unplugged her cell phone. She didn't want them to make her feel better, she enjoyed the pain. She thrived from it. Laying in your bed for almost two weeks straight gives a person plenty of time to think.

She relished in the pain that he invited into her life. It had inspired her creativity, and she had never written anything as emotionally engaging as the sequel to her book. She had finally figured out the title of her first book. She thought it was brilliant all things considered. Shh... It's a Secret would be hitting bookshelves on Valentine's Day, and she couldn't wait. She knew that at the book reading she would have to see him, but she was prepared. She wouldn't let him get under her skin.

There was a knock on her door. She jumped a bit as she wasn't expecting anyone. It was a quarter after five, and whoever it was kept relentlessly knocking on her door. She checked the peep hole to see her sister. She didn't feel like dealing with Alice, but she knew it had to be done eventually.

She pulled open the door to see her sister in mid knock. Her sister was shocked that she had actually opened the door. "I was close to getting your super." She said. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Here," she gestured to her apartment. Alice entered and took a seat on the sofa. Her sister stared at her expectantly. Bella took a seat in her recliner. "What do you want me to say?"

Alice looked ready to blow. "Bella, you missed Thanksgiving with your family. You don't even spend it with Ed-"

"Don't say his name, or I will throw you out." Alice stared at her sister wide-eyed.

"What's going on with you and?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," she said. "I'm fine." She brushed off her sister's concern. "I'm a big girl. I've been feeding myself, paying my bills, sleeping regularly, and look I'm still skinny. So things went sour, life goes on. I'm glad I quit my job. It has been great for my writing. I'm over halfway done with my second book, Halfway in Love. Thanksgiving was hard since I was supposed to spend it with him and his family. I'm okay now. I've bettered myself."

Alice had didn't know what to make of her sister. She wasn't as depressed as she thought she would be considering no one has seen her in a month. She had talked to her boyfriend constantly since he was the only who had any contact with her; he had told her she looked fine. She only ever talked about the book and the sequel. Alice had talked to Edward to figure out what was going on.

He seemed dubious though about why she was so angry with him. Tara had ambushed him earlier that day and refused to leave. She wanted joint custody even though she had signed all her rights away to Ariana. She truly believed Edward would take her back, but Edward tried to get through thick, blonde head that he wasn't interested in her anymore. He had been on the phone with the police when Tara answered his door, and well Alice knew what had happened from there without him needing to say a word.

His bitch ex-girlfriend had scared her sister off, and Bella as usual was looking for a way out. She had always been an insecure girl, and ran at the first sign of distress. Alice couldn't believe how stubborn her sister could be. Edward always gave Bella the benefit of the doubt, but she couldn't even bestow this to him when his ex answered the door. "Bella you are the world's biggest hypocrite. I hope you know this."

"How do you figure?" She crossed her arm, leaning back in her chair.

"How many times has Edward allowed you to explain yourself? You always run at the first sign of trouble. If this is what you call love, then you have a pretty sick sense of it. You've been a colossal bitch. Edward might have a very good explanation why blondie was at his house. But as usual Bella knows all, when are you going to get over yourself?" With that, she left Bella alone to her thoughts.

Her sister had brought up some good points, but right now wasn't the moment for her to hear him out. She needed time to think everything through. Her life was still a mess, and she needed to fix her before she tried to fix a relationship. All of the problems started with her, and she couldn't even remember how she ended up this way. She had trust issues, along with abandonment problems that probably started when she lost her stepfather and mother.

She brought her knees up to her chest, and for the first time Bella wept for herself. She wept for all she had lost, and everyone she had pushed away. There was no one else to blame for her actions except herself. She had to come to grips with her past demons because they were still affecting her even now.


	22. Ruffle

**A/N- Don't get used to this, I just had some free time so I decided why not. I know some of you are angry at Bella or Edward, or even both. There isn't any Edward in this chapter, and at the moment I'm not even sure when he will show up. He will though, I promise. Appearances can be deceiving so don't all go thinking the worst of him until you know the whole story. Thanks to those who reviewed, and I know I only messaged a few of you, but I'm super busy. I'll try better next time, but you have to review first. As usual all mistakes are mine.**

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Bella sat on the sofa staring at the open window in front of her. Her therapist stared expectantly at her, while she tried to process the question she had asked her only a few moments prior. Her therapist was about ten to fifteen years older than her, with dirty blonde hair. She smiled patiently at Bella as she continued tapping her foot.

She had only been in therapy for about a month now. She had contacted her the day after New Year's, and was able to schedule an appointment for two days later. She had been seeing her twice a week, every week now. Dr. Banks loved making Bella talk, and it always made her feel slightly better. She didn't try to push anything on her, and just let her vent about everything. Bella knew that eventually they would have to move into the heavier stuff.

"Bella, answer truthfully, what did you feel when your mother died just a year after your stepfather? It's okay to allow yourself to feel angry or hurt. Believe it or not, it helps."

She stared at her. How could allowing herself to succumb to the grief that she closed away be a good thing? Dr. Banks smiled encouragingly, and it felt as if the dam had burst. "I felt abandoned. She had a choice, she pined away and died. She left me all alone. Sure, I was happy with my dad and my stepmother, but that doesn't mean they could replace them. I can't even bear the thought of traveling to New York City for my book tour in a few months. Going there again and seeing all the places we used to go together would hurt way too much. It would be like they never left, but they did. They left me all alone to deal without them." The words were pouring out of her, and she felt as if she was losing control.

All of the feelings burned inside of her as her head tried to catch up with her mouth. Her heart beat erratically as the tears finally arrived making her words sound garbled as they spilled out of her. She was pouring her heart out to her therapist, someone who didn't even know her, but maybe that was the best part about it. She was a total stranger, impartial to everything, and easy to talk to without any expectation. Her dad had hounded her constantly to talk about her feelings, but eventually left her alone when he realized that it didn't do her any good.

"I wanted them to come back. I kept expecting Phil to be home late every night, and my mom would scold him for coming home at some ridiculous time. He would tell her that some new scoop had some in, and he was stuck editing more articles to add to the next edition of the paper. My mother understood how much pressure he was under as the Editor in Chief for the Times. She never gave him any real grief about it. It was weird only being the two of us after so long with him, but somehow we managed until we didn't." She stopped as her eyesight blurred. She rubbed the tears away.

"I didn't know about my mom until later on. I was in school when the principal came in and said he need to speak privately with me. I knew that something was wrong, but I could never have imagined that my mother suffered from a heart attack. The doctors said it was from all the stress and grief, and that it all caught up to her. I cried and cried for hours at my 'aunt's' house. My dad had to fly cross country along with my sister. I refused to go to the funeral because that made it real. Above all else, seeing her body in a casket would make it real. I could keep hoping she would come back."

Saying this aloud made it all come crashing down as she had adamantly refused to talk about her mother and stepfather's deaths. It was a topic never to be discussed in her house, and Bella preferred it that way. She had built walls to prevent anyone from getting to close because she didn't want to lose them. She didn't want to have to be told that they were gone and never coming back. She didn't want to lose anyone else. She couldn't lose anyone else. "Bella you have that look in your eye. Care to share?"

Bella sniffled loudly. She focused on controlling her breathing above all else. "I push people away so they can't hurt me. I've built my defenses up to keep everyone including my own family from getting too close to prevent myself from suffering from that sort of pain ever again."

Dr. Banks nodded. "Bella, I've had patients with similar cases like yours before. You have emotional blockage from past traumas that were never allowed to heal. Instead you buried the pain to keep yourself from feeling. You want to feel though, don't you? It's why what Edward did hurt? Someone had made you care about them, and instead of listening to him you did what you always do."

Bella choked on another sob. "I didn't want it to be true that he was happier with someone else. I had finally found someone who managed to fight their way into the barriers I had built for myself, but I wanted to find a way for it to fail. I wanted him to be the reason why it ended so that I could say I at least tried."

"Yes, Bella that's it. I'm not saying that you're okay because you aren't. But we can cut back on our sessions, and really just talk about ways for you to manage your grief. We can talk about techniques to help you when you feel like you're losing it. You have a whole support system Bella, use them. I'll be here if you need me, but I don't think you really do anymore. You've got to realize the power you wield, you can hurt others just like they can hurt you. I'll see you next week for our new monthly appointments." Bella got up and instead of shaking Dr. Banks hand as usual, pulled her into a giant hug.

"You were right from the first session. I did and still do need to work on me. I'm going to have to work on me for the rest of my life, but that's okay. I know you needed to ruffle my feathers to get me to speak, but I'm beyond happy that you did. I bottled up everything for so long that I hadn't realized that it was still causing me problems. I don't want to feel like that ever again. I'll see you next week though. Have a good weekend." She waved goodbye to her therapist before exiting her office.

Therapy while sometimes hard had done wonders for her. She knew that with time she was going to be alright. Maybe not today, and maybe not next year, but somewhere down the road she was going to be able to move past this. She was going to allow others in once she tore down the defenses she had put up.

She stopped off at home before meeting her sister at a local coffee shop. Her relationship with Alice over the past two months had been rocky at best, and most of that was on her part. She was compelled to apologize and make amends with her sister. It wasn't Alice's fault that Bella was in such a foul mood as of late. She had done nothing but be a wonderful, older sister, while Bella had been terse and snippy. She would never be able to apologize enough for the things she had yelled at her.

Alice was already seated when Bella arrived. The air between them was tense and awkward, something Bella was unaccustomed to when it came to her sister. She quickly went to the counter to order to have a little space from her for a few minutes. Though they have lived together for three years before Alice had gone off to college, they had never had any sort of altercation before. Never had one been angry at the other. She had never raised her voice at her sister until that day. Bella had no idea what had come over her, and she felt awful about the entire thing. Her sister was only trying to help her, but she pushed her away.

Bella thanked the barista for caramel macchiato, and took a seat on the other side of the table. Her sister drew circles on the table as the tension between the two continued to fizzle. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a sword. Finally after tiring of the silence, Bella decided to talk. "I'm sorry."

Alice's head snapped up as she scrutinized her younger sister. She knew Bella had been going through a rough patch, and wanted to help her because that's what sisters did. Bella lashed out at her in her anger. "I didn't mean what I said." She clarified. "I know you always want to help me, but I'm not where you want me to be."

Bella sat there waiting for her to speak, but Alice for once had no idea what to say. "You're right." If Bella was shocked, that was nothing compared to Alice. That had been the first time those words had ever left her mouth, and for some reason they tasted bitter. "I wanted you to do what I thought you should do, instead of what you wanted. It's a wonder you weren't angrier with me. I totally screwed up."

"It's not all your fault." Bella amended. "I have my blame in this as well. I've been seeing a therapist for about a month now." This piqued Alice's interest, as her sister had always refused outside help, citing that it was impersonal. "Don't give me that look, it has actually been helping. I've actually made a recent breakthrough. I push people away because I don't want them to hurt me. I've never properly dealt with the pain from losing mom and Phil, and it's messed me up in more ways than one. I look for a reason for why people can't get close. My therapist says I've put up these walls to block people out because I don't want to feel as helpless as I did then."

Alice nodded, knowing there was truth in her sister's words. Bella had never wanted to talk about their mother and Phil. She chose to pretend as if it had never happened, which it most definitely had. She went on with her days as if nothing had changed, and Alice watched as her sister retreated into herself. She had become the meek assistant that Edward had bullied for three years because of it. "I'm my own worst enemy. I shouldn't have rushed my relationship with Edward. I had to fix me, and I will be working on that for a longtime yet."

Alice was about to speak, and ask about Edward. Bella held her hand up, already knowing what her sister was about to ask. "In regards to Edward, I don't know what I'm going to do about that. For the moment, I need to think about everything. I need to know if I was really in love with him, or was it because he was the first guy who had showed me attention in a longtime?" Alice bit her tongue, wanting to say that yes she was in love, but felt that was a realization Bella needed to come to on her own.

"I'm glad we're talking Bells. I've missed you. I wanted to tell you when it happened, but we weren't talking to each other. Jasper proposed." She squealed loudly, and Bella congratulated her. The two sisters parted with plans for the weekend to hangout. "Oh and by the way," she added, before getting into her car. "Mom, says if you don't get off your ass and call her, she's going to come up here. We both know you don't want that." Alice gave her sister a look.

Bella chuckled. "No," she tucked a stand of her hair behind her ear. "I don't want that. She'll probably kill me. See ya Al." She began her walk home feeling lighter than she had in months. Her heart was no longer constricted by the burdens of her past. She was on her path to being whole.

Unbeknownst to her, a bronze haired man watched her from across the street. He was on his way to his favorite coffee shop when he spotted her long, mahogany hair. She was even more beautiful than she was the last time he saw her. She looked happy, and he kept on his merry way without saying anything. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already had.


	23. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**I don't know where you all got the idea he cheated on her. I never said or implied it. I don't condone cheating, and therefore I will never write about it. There's more to what's going on than you guys think. So if you guys will hold off on your accusations until Edward's pov, which will no longer be an outtake because of all the reviews, you will know what is going to happen.**

**I have an outline of the story, and know basically how it is going to go. I didn't actually think you guys would think he cheated on her. I had considered it might be a possibility, but as I said I can't stand cheaters. **

**Have a good night,**

**MfM**


	24. History

**A/N- So I like where I've ended this. This is actually the last chapter, I've decided. I know that I said yesterday we had a long way yet, well I realised that I like it where it is now. There will be an epilogue, and definitely some outtakes so don't worry, your pretty little heads. Leave a review, and I'll send you a little sneak preview of the epi. Hope you guy enjoy.**

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Edward was tired after having to travel all week for business. He had meetings in Tokyo and London, meaning he had long flights ahead of him. He was lucky the company had invested in a private jet because he didn't think he could handle having to switch planes at each stop.

He was finally going home to his girlfriend and daughter, both he couldn't wait to see. This week had been beyond exhausting, and he tried to talk to Bella every night. Even though their time zones didn't quite match up, he still waited until he was able to call her. He dreamed of holding her in his arms, and thanking his lucky stars that she was giving him a chance.

His flight was delayed because of a storm, and they wouldn't be arriving in Seattle until the next morning. It was just his luck that he would have wait another night before he could see Bella again. He had missed her beyond belief during their week apart. The phone calls just weren't enough, and his body ached for her.

He was already planning something special for Christmas. He was going to surprise her with a trip to his family's private island for New Year's where he would propose to her. He had it all planned out; some might say it was too soon for marriage but he knew it was right. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He had already asked Ariana her opinion, and she agreed wholeheartedly that he should marry B.

He wanted to give her a mother, and Bella already adored the girl as if she were her own. Bella was more of a mother to his daughter than his ex. She was a self-centred bitch who carried about nobody but herself. He was glad that Ari wasn't subjected to her torture. She was poisonous, and not fit at all to be around his daughter.

He tried calling Bella, but all servers were down. He sighed and tossed his phone onto the bed of his hotel room. He wanted to hear her voice, and know that she was alright. Bella hated storms more than anything, and often would curl up into a ball and cry. He always came over and cuddled up with her, trying to distract her from the conditions outside.

He rubbed his face tiredly, and decided it was time for him to sleep. He would stress himself out even further if he stayed awake any longer. His pilot texted him that they would be ready to leave at nine.

Edward smiled goofily, thinking that he could surprise his girlfriend later that night. He however, didn't keep that smile for the rest of the day as his late afternoon was interrupted by someone he never thought he would see again.

Blue eyes that glinted evilly stared at him from the tall, leggy blonde standing in front of him. "What the hell are you doing here?" He growled.

Her eyes sparkled with delight, angering Edward. "Ooh I like this more aggressive Edward. He's sexy." She tried to touch his chest, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Don't you fucking dare touch me, I asked you a goddamn question. Now answer it." Her eyes widened at his tone, but he was done playing her childish games.

"Didn't you miss me Eddie?" She pouted.

"Are you fucking serious?" He yelled at her. She cowered slightly and took a step back. "I want nothing to do with you Tara. You are nothing to me. I hate you, my family hates you. I feel nothing for you."

"So you start fucking that little brunette of yours, and suddenly you're over me. Is that how it is?" She took a step forward causing him to take one back. "You will never be over me Eddie."

"I am." He said through gritted teeth. "I've realised how toxic you really are. I know you were cheating on me." Her eyes widened, and her mouth popped open. "Oh yea, think I didn't know about those guys you were screwing around with? Don't worry I had Ari tested to make sure she's mine, and she is." He told her proudly.

"Oh yes, Ariana my daughter, I would love to see her." She smiled. "It's been so long."

"Fucking with me is one thing, but when you bring my daughter into it, it's a whole another ball park. You have no claim to her whatsoever. You signed away your rights for what was it half a mil."

Tara shifted her eyes, and Edward realised immediately why she was there. "Oh, that's what you want isn't it? You've spent all your money, and now you want more."

"That's not true Eddie." She pleaded. She tried to grab his arm, but he wouldn't allow her near him. "I want you back. I miss you. We can be a family, and Ariana can have her mother. Isn't that what you want?"

Edward's nostrils flared angrily. "Don't you ever say my daughter's name again. You are nothing to her. She knows nothing about you, and if she wants to contact you when she's eighteen then fine, but until then you leave her alone. Do you understand me?" He said in a deadly voice.

Tara nodded, too scared to speak. "Second there is no us, there's me and there's you. I'm happy in my life with someone who understands what it is like to love another person. You have never felt a single human emotion ever in your entire life, and you probably never will. And lastly, I'm not giving you more money so you can keep living your druggie ways. If you want some more nose candy well go talk to mummy and daddy." The phone began ringing. "I'm going to answer that, and you better be gone by the time I get back. Comprende?" He asked her.

Fake tears gathered in her eyes, but he was done believing her bullshit any longer. She had always been dramatic, and he knew that those tears were faker than her boobs. "Hello?" He answered.

"Oh, Edward good you're home," he rolled his eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me," he gulped, wondering how his mother did that. "Are you coming to Thanksgiving dinner next week with Bella?" She asked. He rolled his eyes again; it was something trivial as usual that could've waited until the next morning.

"I don't yet mom, I haven't asked her. I'll talk to her later about it. Now I've got to go make sure that Tara left, and then disinfect anything she may have touched."

"That bitch was there? Where is she? I want to get my hands on her skinny, little neck."

"Bye mom." He said hanging up. She had hated Tara from the very first time he had taken her out. His mother had seen from the beginning the kind of person she was, and wondered how she knew.

As he left the den, he heard noises coming from the foyer. Tara was standing at his door talking to someone. She was talking to Bella. He caught the end of their conversation. "You may have temporarily replaced me, but I am here now."

Bella bolted immediately, and he quickly sprang into action. "Bella?" He called. She didn't answer, and he turned to Tara. "What the hell did you say to her?" He grabbed her wrist tightly, wanting answers. Tara looked frightened of him, and tried to get herself loose.

"Only the truth Eddie," she purred at him, trying to be seductive, but coming off slutty.

"Get away from me," he said in a low voice. "Bella, please wait," he yelled. "Let me explain," he begged.

She turned on her heel. "Explain what?" She screamed at him. "Were you only using me until she came back? Is that what this has all been about?" She couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer, and they spilled from her eyes. "Here, I thought you loved me, but you were only waiting until dumb and blonde came back. Have a nice life Edward. I'm done. My resignation will be on your desk tomorrow, and my office will be cleaned up by next week."

"Don't do this." He begged.

"I didn't, you did." She turned quickly, and rushed to her car. She sped away without sparing him a second look. He would have gone after her, but he had to make sure that Twhora got the hell out of his house.

"Are you happy now?" He asked her, his voice garbled through his tears. "You've ruined the greatest thing to ever happen to me. She will never forgive me now. She probably thinks I cheated on her with the likes of you. Get the hell out and don't come back ever. If you do, I will make you suffer. I will tear you down. Now go," he commanded her. And go she did like a bat out of hell.

True to her word, Bella's resignation was on his desk. Every trace of her was gone, and all of his calls went straight to voicemail. He knew it would be a terrible idea for him to show his face at her apartment; Bella hated feeling like she was backed into a wall. She turned defensive. He decided giving her space would be the right thing to do, and that when she was ready if she wanted to talk, they would talk.

The ring was burning a hole in his pocket, figuratively speaking. He kept hope that she would come back, and then he would be able to finally ask her, but time went by and three months had soon passed,

He had only seen her once in all that time, but she hadn't seen him. He knew then that it was over. He didn't deserve her; he wasn't good enough for someone as pure and beautiful as her. All he had done was make mistake after mistake in his life, and his mistakes had finally caught up to him.

Ariana hated him, and refused to speak to him. She told him that she was going to be staying at her grandparents until he fixed everything. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it would never be fixed. When he was alone he found himself laughing hysterically. Tara had actually thought that just because they had a past that he would choose her over Bella, and Bella thought that because they did he would go back to her.

It was fucking ironic that it turned out like that. He stopped going to the publishing company, and began working from Cullen Inc. offices instead. There weren't any memories of Bella to haunt him there, and for that he was thankful because he already missed her more than he ever thought possible.

Today was Valentine's Day, and unlike all the other miserable people out there he had to go into work. There was going to be an advanced reading of the publishing company's new book, Shh… It's a Secret by a secret author who would be revealed today. The book was more than good when he first read it. It had gone through some major changes as the author had changed events. It almost reminded him of how he and Bella used to be in some parts.

He arrived a few minutes before the author was set to go on. He decided to stand in the back instead of sitting down. He was restless, and his body tingled with excitement for an unknown reason. He casually leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and waited.

Bella shook at her hands, trying to rid herself of nerves. She couldn't possibly go out there in front of all those people. She paced back and forth when a gentle hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up into the eyes of Jasper who stared down, smirking at her. "You'll be fine Bella." He assured her. "You need to relax because the reading is about to begin. Can you do that?"

She slowly inhaled and exhaled before nodding. "Now go because you're on," he pushed her forward, and she walked through the curtain.

The audience applauded her, and she felt curious eyes on her. She avoided them, knowing full well that she had some explaining to do. He wasn't the only guilty one of lying.

"Chapter one," she said in a clear voice. "The hiring, for a girl recently out of college, I'm lucky to even have an interview. A may be a small secretarial job with lousy pay, but at least there was a possibility of moving up through the ranks. I was meeting with Luke Atchley. His family owned one of the biggest companies in the world, and dabbled in just a little bit of everything." She kept reading ignoring his looks as best she could. Four hours later, Bella was signing several copies of her book.

There were lots of women and even a few men. This book to her though was the history of them. Sure, some minor details and facts had been changed, but it was fiction. Real life was never as exciting as books well in most cases.

Her hand was cramping by the time she had signed the last book. She flexed a little when she felt him saddle up to next to her. "I suppose you want to talk." He nodded. "Good," she smiled. "I want to talk as well."


	25. AN

**Author's Note**

**I have decided to do a bonus chapter as a treat to you guys. Not sure when it will go up, but hopefully maybe tonight if I get my homework done quickly. **

**I know you guys feel I ended it prematurely, and maybe I did. But right now college is the most important thing as it should be. I may continue it depending on how I feel. I know not everyone thought he cheated, but quite a few of you did. Don't lie. I like though when a story ends, and the epi could go any way. There is so much that could happen, and I love that.**


	26. Transition

**A/N- It's not really my best chapter, but here is your bonus chapter. It takes place a few years later. Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you guys review again. As usual, all mistakes are mine. I don't own Twilight, but someone with initials SM does. Now I've got a HP club meeting to get ready for, so good night you guys. Also you can follow me on Twitter purplejam.**

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"_I suppose you want to talk," He nodded. __"Good," she smiled. "I want to talk to you as well."_

That was four years ago, and things had changed vastly. Bella had literally become an overnight success, and was sucked into book tours, interview, and the whole works. Her second novel had sold right off the shelves in under an hour, and had been sold out for an entire week.

She had never expected such a reception to her book. Movie deals were being talked about at the moment, and Bella had her own stipulations in regards to the casting. All of the main cast had to be nobodies; she didn't want any expectations for the movies. She also didn't want anyone to have to alter their appearances to be able to portray their characters at least with hair dye. Contacts she could understand since it could be difficult to find girls with brown hair and green eyes. The film was set to film in the next couple of weeks, and for that Bella was excited.

She thought of Edward who was now married to an amazing woman with three children besides Ariana. His wife loved the girl like her own. His children were adorable. There were the twins Janie and Alec, and then there was Lucas. He had taken over as CEO over Cullen Inc. Cullen Publishers were still publishing her book series, and she had just signed a contract with scholastic for a new teen book that she had written.

Life had certainly been a transition, and the talking really did help. It was different from how things were before when one of them or the other would walk away instead of talking out their problems. She smiled goofily as she was going home today. She had been on yet another book tour for the third and last book of her series. She couldn't believe she had finished the series.

Six years ago she couldn't have imagined her life would've ended up ten years ago. She was almost thirty-two in about two months. Time had really passed her by, and she had a lot more to show for it than just being Edward Cullen's assistant.

She was married now, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her husband most definitely not perfect even though he claimed differently. He still made Bella smile on a daily basis even when she was angry at him.

The plane was beginning its descent, and Bella buckled her seatbelt. Her husband had no idea she was arriving home early. The book tour was supposed to be another three days, but things had fallen through and they were cancelled.

Her sister was there waiting for her, and helped Bella with her luggage. Bella ignored the gawking of several passer-by as she and Alice exited Sea-Tac. "How was the tour?" Her sister asked, rubbing her distended belly.

Bella shrugged. She was used to long tours, and though she enjoyed meeting and talking to her friends, she preferred when she was able to go home. "Eh, it was okay. How is my little niece?" She asked, rubbing her sister's belly.

"Pissing me off, I have to pee like fifty times a day because of this little monster. This is going to be only child." She stated firmly. Jasper and Alice took some time getting married after their engagement. They then spent two years arguing over when they wanted to start having children; they tried so hard to get pregnant, but it wasn't happening. Alice had to take hormones to go through in vitro fertilisation. Bella hated to see her sister and Jasper so despondent, but finally seven months ago it took. They were now expecting a healthy little girl in a less than two months.

Bella's family had changed in the last four years. Her sister Leah was now a freshman in college at George Mason located outside of D.C. She was leaving in two months' time, and Bella was disheartened. She had watched her sister graduate earlier that month, and it had been daunting to see her little sister graduate from high school.

Bella felt older than her thirty-one years at that moment when her sister had delivered her salutatorian speech. She had looked so grown up compared to the thirteen year old girl who had complained about getting in trouble because of some douche bag. Seth was a sophomore and every bit the heartbreaker. He was the starting pitcher at Forks High, and he was just a sophomore. His coach saw a lot of potential in him. Rosalie was nine, and not quite a baby any longer. She had recently met a boy who she severely disliked. Bella smiled at memory of her baby sister whining about the boy Emmett and his mean ways. Rosie was still golden blonde, and it didn't seem her hair would be changing anytime soon. That was where she differed from her siblings.

Her stepmother was forty-seven now, and getting closer to her fifties every day. Her dad would be turning fifty-five the next year. His hair was completely grey now, but Sue still loved him like they had just gotten married yesterday. There was a reason she never stayed at her parents' house ever anymore. She accidently caught them once, and couldn't even look them in the eye for a long time after that. She flushed every time she so much as saw her mom or dad because she wasn't the only one who had been mortified. They didn't even talk about it anymore because it was awkward and humiliating for both parties.

Bella leaned against the window of her sister's car, and watched as the city drifted out of sight. She fell asleep on the way home from having to wake up at five to catch her plane. "Bells, we are here." Her sister shook her awake, and Bella smiled at the sight of her house located on Bainbridge. The house had four bedrooms and three floors. Unfortunately there were only two bathrooms, but they made do. They lived in the woods, and Bella absolutely adored the quietness.

A lot of her writing had been inspired by living here, and she also loved the built in window seats. They were perfect for lounging around and bouncing ideas back and forth. She stepped out of the car, and hugged her sister by.

Bella retrieved her suitcases from her sister's trunk. As soon as she entered the house, she heard the tell-tale signs of her children. They didn't know the meaning of quiet at all, and Bella smiled as she entered the living room where much of her time was spent.

There on the floor was her daughter sitting on top of her brother. "Bad boy, yous a bad boy." Her daughter cackled. Bella rolled her eyes, and rushed to grab her daughter from on top of her brother.

"What have I told you about being mean to your brother?" She reprimanded, setting the girl on her feet. She helped her brother up who seemed as dazed as his sister. "Mommy," they shouted in unison. "You're home." She kneeled so she could hug the two of them to her chest.

They were little demon children, but she loved them more than her own life. She kissed the top of their heads. "I missed you two little rascals. I'm going to find your brother and daddy. Stay out of trouble, I mean it." She warned. She hated doling out punishments, but her husband refused to be the bad guy. She had to show her children she meant business even if it meant do some unsavoury things.

She headed up the stairs to her sons' bedrooms. Her youngest was a little over a year old, and he was a momma's boy. He loved his daddy just as much, but whenever Bella was home, he was never too far behind. He had taken his first steps trying to reach Bella who had gone into the kitchen. She had been shocked to see her son toddling on his chubby little legs. She picked him up and spun him around as she planted kisses all over his face. He only giggled and squished her cheeks, finding his mom's antics amusing.

She stood against the doorway as she saw her husband and son asleep on the floor, curled up together. A smile crossed her face as she saw the identical expressions of father and son. They both snored as well, but Bella didn't even hear it anymore.

"You're home," A voice said from down the hall. Bella turned to see one of her favourite girls come running down the hall at her. "I missed you mommy." The girl wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I missed you too sweetheart." She kissed the top of Ariana's blonde head and sighed in contentment. "Have you been a good girl?" She asked, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders.

Ariana nodded enthusiastically. "Oh was I ever. But Janie went all crazy with you gone. You know daddy will never punish her when she gives him the puppy dog pout. Even I think twice about being mad her when she does that. There's just something about those big green eyes that gets me every time." Bella smiled, Janie certainly was one of a kind. "I think she's more of a daddy's girl than me." She said incredulously. "I didn't even think it was possible."

"I didn't use to think a lot of things were possible. I hope you had a great last day of school." She hugged her daughter tightly to her side as they descended the stairs to go check on Alec and Janie.

Bella didn't trust her daughter for a minute when she said she would be good. The girl had no concept of being nice to her brother. The only nice thing she did for him was defend him when others tried to pick on him in day care. Janie had bright red hair while Alec had his mother's brown hair. They were as opposite one another as you could get. They were close though, when they weren't fighting that is.

They were hers imperfect as they were. They were all hers and Edward's. Arms wrapped around her waist, and Bella smiled at Ari taking a toy from Janie's grasp and giving it to Alec. Lips gently touched her neck before he whispered in her ear, "You're home early love."

"I know," she turned in his arms so she could kiss him. She pulled his head down to hers for a searing kiss that involved maybe a little or a lot of tongue. "Ew, mommy and daddy, that's gross." Their children said giggling.

Edward and Bella glanced at each other before pouncing on their children in a tickle fight. Sure, he was upset about the book, but at the end of the day how could he not be flattered that she based a character off of him. She wrote about their relationship, and he couldn't angry with her about that because he, himself admitted it was a good book even before he knew its origins. They both spent some time in counselling, and eventually worked to where they were now.

Edward still had trust and self-worth problems that were left over from his disastrous relationship with Toxic Tara. Bella still needed help with letting people in, but they helped each other heal. Edward assured Bella that there was nothing and never will be anything between him and Tara. She may have given him his daughter, but all he could feel for her was gratitude and nothing more. Bella let down the last of her walls when Edward finally proposed, and she knew what true happiness felt like, for the first time in a long time Bella was free.


End file.
